The Parent Trap
by SprouseGoose
Summary: Unlike the Disney film and its remake, I'll actually be using real twins in this version of the story.  See what happens when the the familiar story has the Suite Life twist added to it.
1. In the Beginning

_Chapter 1_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

_Seattle, Washington – Early 1990's_

Kurt Martin was a brash young man in his early 20's. Having grown up in Seattle, he had spent his formative years watching local bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden soar in popularity and establish the new genre of music known as alternative or grunge. And seeing them on stage, there was nothing more in the world that he wanted to do than to become just like them. In high school, he and several of his friends who shared that same dream formed a garage band of their own. In their hearts, they knew they were going to be the next big Seattle based band to take off and make it big. But like every other band, they had to pay their dues. And for a while, one of the only gigs they could get was playing 'booze cruises' around Puget Sound.

Carey Rhodes was an idealistic young woman in her early twenties as well. She too had an affinity for music, but she had discovered it quite by accident. She had been in a talent show as a stand up comic, but it had gone all wrong from the beginning. So, she did some improvisation halfway through her act and began singing. Turns out, she had quite the talent for it as she had a natural singing voice. But her mother feared that would be a fool's lark and encourage her to do it as a hobby as she got her college degree. When Carey agreed to do that, her mother was so grateful that she was willing to overlook the constant string of losers she brought home as boyfriends.

In early 1992, Carey got drug out by her friends for a night on the town. One of their little sisters had just turned twenty-one, and there was going to be a big party for her on board one of the local 'booze cruises'. Carey didn't particularly want to go, but she finally relented. She had no idea how much that decision would change her future. For Kurt, he held his guitar and was about to play one of their new songs when he happened to notice Carey in the crowd talking to one of her friends. Before that, he didn't believe in love at first site, but he was quickly rethinking his stance on that.

Throughout their entire first set, a throng of girls screamed at him, and a few even through undergarments at him. But his eyes never left Carey. And the fact that the cute lead singer kept looking at her caused Carey to feel butterflies in her stomach. She wasn't sure why, but she thought he was one of the best looking guys she had ever seen. And when the band's first break came, Kurt knew he had to go talk to her. And Carey made sure she was right there for him to do so.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Kurt smiled at her. "I'm Kurt Martin."

She smiled back. "Carey Rhodes."

"I'm...ummm...I'm the lead singer of the band..."

She laughed. "Yeah, I noticed..."

He shook his head in embarrassment. "Oh yeah..." He paused to collect himself. "Sorry about that. I don't know why, but I'm finding myself getting tongue tied trying to talk to you..."

"Why do I doubt that? I doubt you have any problems talking to girls." She looked around. "In fact, I see several of them giving me dirty looks right now..."

He laughed. "Well, usually, that's true. I really don't have that problem normally. Now, my brother is a different story. He's the sweet, sensitive type who is shy around the ladies. But what he doesn't realize is that the girls flock to him. If he knew the power he really had..."

Carey just looked at him. "Oh really..."

Kurt kept laughing nervously. "But he's not that type. He actually prefers to be in relationships. Anyways, as for the other girls tonight, I didn't really notice." He paused. "Actually, you're the only girl I noticed..."

She laughed. "Wow...what a cheesy line..."

"Maybe...but its still true. The point is...there's something about you that I'm drawn too, and I can't figure out what it is. But I want to."

"Oh?"

He nodded. "Yeah." He smiled. "How would you like to go out with me sometime?"

Carey paused. "I don't know...Do you have a girlfriend?"

Kurt shook his head. "No, I don't...so, what do you say?"

She smiled. "What if I have a boyfriend?"

He paused to consider that. "Do you?"

She laughed. "No, not currently..."

Kurt grinned. "So, no problem then. So, will you go out with me?"

Carey paused to think. "I don't know..."

"At least have a drink with me? I mean...we're on a boat. Nothing more romantic than that..."

"Well, I guess that wouldn't hurt...Alright. One drink."

One drink lead to two before Kurt had to return for the second set. But every break after that, they found each other again and talked. By the end of the night, Kurt had finally convinced her to give him her phone number. And ignoring the normal rules of protocol, he called her the next day to invite her for a real date.

Thus began a whirlwind romance. Less than four months after they first met, they were married on the same ship they had met. And their honeymoon turned out to be memorable in more ways than one. A few weeks after they had gotten back from it, Carey woke up feeling nauseous and throwing up. She thought she had just caught the flu, but a trip to the doctor soon revealed the real reason she wasn't feeling well. That afternoon, Kurt came home from his day job to see Carey just sitting on their couch staring off in to space.

"Hey Babe...Is everything okay?"

Carey just looked up at him. "Actually...I don't know. Today's been an interesting day..."

Kurt smiled at her. "Yeah? What happened today?"

She paused. "Well, I went to the doctor because I still wasn't feeling well..."

"Still have a touch of the flu?"

"I never had the flu..." She took a deep breath. "...I'm pregnant."

Kurt just stared at her for a moment. He didn't even notice that he was losing feeling in his legs until he had already sunk down into the couch next to her.

"P...p...pregnant?"

She nodded. "Yeah..."

He shook his head. "This is karma. I was giving Billy a hard time today because he said his wife Janet is pregnant now too..."

Carey paused again. "There's more..."

Kurt just looked at her. "More?"

She swallowed and nodded. "Yeah...twins..."

Kurt could have been knocked over with a feather. "Twins?"

And twins it indeed was. In March 1993, Carey gave birth to identical twin sons. The decided to name their eldest Zachary after Kurt's late grandfather and their youngest Cody after Carey's late grandfather. The first several months were rough on all of them. With two newborns, its seemed like one of them was always awake and crying. They both learned that to Zack, they were just moving targets while they tried to change his diaper. If they didn't know better, they could have sworn he was doing it on purpose. On the other hand, they learned that Cody was a finicky eater. If something didn't taste good to him, he had no problems expressing his distaste for it.

But beyond that, both Kurt and Carey absolutely loved being parents. To Carey, they were her little men and complete angels. Often, she and Janet would watch all three of their kids together. And little Addison would wail just as much as the boys wood.

Carey looked at Janet. "Do you really think its wise to eat so many Twinkies before you breast feed her?"

Janet laughed. "Why wouldn't it be okay? Not like its going to cause any lasting damage..."

All in all, life was going pretty good for the Martin family. Until...yes, there's always an until. Kurt had been at his day job when he got a call from the band's manager. Seems like a record executive had seen them play the week before and was interested in signing them. Immediately, Kurt left work and met the manager at the record company. And it went even better than he could have imagined. The executive liked what he heard and wanted to sign them to a three record deal. And in addition to that, they wanted Kurt's band to be the opening act to another, higher profile band on its upcoming European tour. As this is what he had been waiting for forever, Kurt immediately signed on the dotted line.

But to say that Carey was a little angry at that would be an understatement.

"You just signed up without even bothering to call me and talk to me about any of this?"

Kurt just looked at his wife. "But this is my dream! You've known from the very beginning that this is what I've worked so hard for. I thought you would be happy for me...for us."

Carey just shook her head and nodded over at a bassinet. "Did you forget that we have two twin infant sons now?"

"No...of course I didn't. I love my boys."

"But you're okay with just leaving them and me to go traipsing around Europe for six months?"

He paused. "Of course not. I want to take them with us..."

She just sighed and shook her head again. "Do you really think that living out of a suitcase and diaper bag for six months will be good for them? Kurt, our boys need some stability in their lives..."

"And that's what I'm trying to give them! I want to provide for my boys and make sure they are taken care of!"

"No, providing for them and taking care of them means doing what is best for them. They need to be in one place where they can grow and be around their families."

Kurt paused. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying the boys and I are staying right here in Seattle...I'm going to show them that they are my top priority."

"They're my top priority too!"

She shook her head sadly. "No...they're not. You're top priority is you and your band."

He swallowed and shook his head. "So...is this...is this it? You won't even think about going with me?"

Carey sighed. "No, I won't. I was hoping you would reconsider."

"I can't do that. This is about more than just me. I have the other guys to think about as well..."

Tears formed in Carey's eyes. "I see. I see what's most important to you now. I'll call my Uncle Harry the lawyer tomorrow. When you're actually around, I'll let you see the boys as often as you want..."

Kurt just stared at her. "No way! I don't want this to end, but I'll be damned if I give up my boys!"

Carey sighed again. "Then what do you suggest? You'll be away all the time and I'll be here in Seattle..."

He paused to think. "I can only think of one solution. You'll have custody of one of them and I'll have custody of the other..."

"That's the most asinine thing I've ever heard!"

"Do you have a better idea?"

_To be Continued..._


	2. The Collision Course

_Chapter 2_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

**FIFTEEN YEARS LATER**_  
><em>

_Boston, Massachusetts_

Fifteen year old Cody Martin was in his bedroom at the Boston Tipton Hotel packing up his bags. He was leaving the next morning for an intense three week study of applied mathematics at the University of Texas in Austin. Originally, he had wanted to go to an applied physics camp at Cal Tech, but his Mom balked at him going so far away from home. She had wanted him to stay at home and go to the program at MIT. Cody felt fortunate that she had compromised and agreed to let him go to Texas.

As he finished packing his back, he was making a list of things he needed to head out an pick up before he left. His can of bear repellant was almost empty, and he needed a couple of new needles for his sewing kit. And as he was finishing packing, the door to his bedroom opened and in walked in his best buddy Woody Fink.

Cody looked up. "Hey Woodchuck...what's up?"

Woody sighed and shook his head. "Steve!"

Cody just nodded and turned back to his list. He had known Woody for almost three years now. He had met him his first day of junior high in Boston, and in that time, he had heard enough stories about Woody's so called 'evil' stepfather to last a lifetime.

"I still can't believe you're leaving for three weeks. Where am I going to go when I need to get out of the house for a little while?"

Cody turned and laughed. "Woody, you only come here hoping to sample whatever Chef Paulo happens to be whipping up..."

"Hurtful!"

Cody kept laughing. "Just giving you a hard time, Buddy. I'll actually miss you too. Seems like you're the only person around here that even gets me a little bit..."

Woody frowned. "Cody...I don't understand half of the things you're talking about. And the other half...well, you know so much about so many things I don't care about."

Cody smiled. "And yet...you're still my best friend."

Woody smiled back. "Because were both misfits..."

"True. You do remember the favor you're going to do for me while I'm gone, right?"

He nodded. "I remember. Every Wednesday, I'm supposed to stop by here and help London Tipton do her web show. Will I be getting paid for this?"

"If you do, it will be the first time. I've been doing it for over a year now, and I haven't been paid once."

Woody sat down on Cody's bed. "Dang it!"

Cody just smiled again. "Come on. We'll stop by London's penthouse so she knows you're coming, and then I have to stop by the store to get a few things. I'll buy you a cup of gumbo at the place next to it."

Woody grinned. "GUMBO!"

They headed off up to London's penthouse and caught her on her way out. Cody explained that he was going to be gone for three weeks, but that he had written down instructions for Woody to do everything for Yay Me! while he was away. London just looked at him and shrugged. It was obvious she had something else on her mind.

"Is everything okay, London?"

She sighed. "No! Daddy's making me go to some stupid sea school next year! He says if I'm stuck on the cruise ship, I can jet off to Paris when I want and will actually have to go to class..."

Cody shook his head. "London...that sounds like an amazing opportunity. I wish I could do something like that. Can you imagine studying oceanography on the ocean?"

London just glared at him. "Then you go in my place!"

"I wish I could! But I doubt my Mom could afford to send me..."

She just shook her head. "Poor people...Anyways, make sure what's his name here has a guest lined up everyday before he shows up." And with that, London was off.

Woody turned to Cody. "I have to come up with a guest every week?"

"Don't worry. I've already arranged for them. They'll be there. And if one doesn't show up, I added a list of emergency people you can call at the last minute at the end of the instructions I gave you. Come on, we need to get going."

Cody and Woody headed off to the store so Cody could get his last minute things. And once they were done, he did in fact treat Woody to a bowl of gumbo. As they left to head back to the Tipton, they cut through the park and saw several people playing basketball. And as they walked, Woody nudged Cody.

"Don't look now, but that girl Maya is checking you out again..."

Cody shrugged. "So?"

"Dude! She's hot and was checking you out! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Not really. I'm sure she might be a perfectly nice girl, but she's not my type. She's the popular type, but I get the feeling she doesn't take anything too seriously. I mean...for the science fair last year, she made a volcano! How unoriginal is that? I want someone who will stimulate my intellect as well as other things. Besides, her definition and my definition of fun are completely different. I mean, she's on the girl's basketball team, and playing sports are definitely not my thing."

Woody laughed. "You can say that again, Captain Granny Shot..." He paused. "So, if she isn't, just what is your type then? Because my sister Willa has a big crush on you too for some reason..."

Cody shuddered. He had a flashback of going to the Fink household for dinner and being subjected to family music night...and they weren't using instruments. He had done all he could not to throw up right there in front of everyone. Willa was nice enough, but definitely not his type. "I'm not sure, Woody. The girl for me has to be smart, sweet, kind..."

Woody rolled his eyes. "Can you be any more vague?"

Cody shrugged. "Fact is Woody, I'll know the girl for me when I meet her, and so far, I haven't met her yet..."

"You and me both, Cody...you and me both..." Woody paused. "Who knows? Maybe you'll find a girl while your gone who is your type?"

Cody laughed. "Doubtful..."

"Never say never. And if you do find one, see if she has a friend for me!"

They just kept walking and got back to the hotel, Cody was about to say goodbye to his friend when Woody spoke up again.

"Would you mind if I still came over and used your room while you were gone?"

Cody just looked at him. "Why?"

"You have no idea how lucky you are to be an only child. With so many brothers and sisters plus Steve, I'll need a place to just get away too..."

Cody shrugged. "Sure..I guess."

The next morning, Carey and Cody headed to Logan airport. Once Cody's bags were checked, they both made their way to security where Carey stopped him and began fussing over him in the way that only a mother can.

"Mom!"

Carey smiled. "Sorry...I'm just sad to see my little man leaving for three weeks. I don't like to admit how grown up you're getting..."

He paused. "Are you sure you're going to be alright? I mean...for as long as I can remember, its just been the two of us..."

"I'll be fine."

"Well, I asked Chef Paulo and Arwin to keep an eye on you and to make sure you eat. I know you've kind of left the cooking and cleaning to me for a while now..."

"Cody, I'll be fine. I'll be doing my show every night like I always do. Don't worry about me. You go off to Texas and show those university types what you can do. I'll be here when you get back. Just remember to have fun and don't do anything crazy..."

Cody paused and smiled. "Maybe while I'm gone, you'll actually go out on a date with Arwin. He's been asking you out on one for almost three years now..."

Carey just shook his head. "My dating life is none of your business..."

"Mom...In the last ten years, I can count on one hand the number of dates you've been on. And none of them have been a second date. And I know its not because of a lack of offers..."

She smiled. "Cody, I'm fine."

He paused again. "Does this have anything to do with my father?"

Carey paused and looked away. But Cody continued.

"How come you never like talking about him?"

She shook her head again. "You better be going or you're going to miss your flight."

_Seattle, Washington_

Fifteen year old Zack Martin was lounging back on his bed watching his best friend in the whole world pack his bags for him. In the morning, he would be off to Austin, Texas for a three week long basketball camp at the University of Texas. And he was really looking forward to getting out of Seattle for a while and the opportunity to be around college girls. He was daydreaming about all the possibilities when her heard someone clear their throat.

"You're all packed now. I have no idea how you talked me into doing that for you though..."

Zack grinned. "Because you're my best friend, Addison...And you know I'm absolutely terrible at packing."

Addison rolled her eyes. "How would you know that? I seriously doubt you've ever packed a bag before in your life. You probably got your Dad's manager to do it for you..."

Zack laughed as he thought about that. It was true. His Dad was Kurt Martin, the lead singer of one of Seattle's popular but not Nirvana level popular alternative bands. For as long as he could remember, it had been he and his Dad on the road being guys. Of course, he could see Addison just looking at him again and rolling her eyes. But Zack was used to that...she had been doing that too for as long as he could remember. Addison's Dad was the drummer in Kurt's band, and she and Zack had grown up together. And when her mother died when she was little, she and her Dad had actually moved in with Zack and Kurt. The two Dads thought it would be easier raising the two kids as a team. So, Zack and Addison were as close as any real brother and sister.

"You know I appreciate everything you do for me, Addie. You're the closest thing to a sibling that I have."

She just shook her head. "Yet you would think I would know better by now..." She paused. "Then again, you did talk the basketball coach into letting you miss the first three weeks of summer school to go to this camp..."

Zack laughed. "Hey...when you're good, you're good."

"Uh huh...One of these days, one of your schemes is going to backfire on you in a major way. And you're going to expect me to be there to pick up the pieces."

He grinned. "Oh come on. You will be. Just like I've done for you. Who was it that helped settle you down when we found that bag of pixie sticks?"

She shook her head. "We were seven! And you're never going to let me live that down!"

"You're right about that!"

Addison checked her watch. "Well, I have to be going anyways. My other best friend is leaving tomorrow for a physics camp at Cal Tech. I want to go say goodbye to her before she leaves..."

This time, Zack rolled his eyes. "I still don't understand how you can be friends with her? She's such a good two shoes...and a brainiac! She's so boring!"

She shook her head. "No, she's not. Bailey is one of the nicest people I've ever met. You're just upset that she is one of the few girls who is impervious to your charms. She just prefers the smart, sweet, sensitive types..."

"Like those actually exist!" He just shook his head. "Besides, she hates me!"

Addison paused and laughed. "Well, can you blame her? Her family had just moved here from Kansas before school last summer..."

He interrupted her. "That's another thing! All she talks about is farm stuff!"

She ignored him. "You put a whoopee cushion in her chair the first day of school..."

Zack laughed. "Yeah...that was pretty funny!"

"And then you destroyed her science fair project!"

He shrugged. "Hey...it was an accident. No harm done..."

"She had been growing that bacteria for months!" Addison sighed and mumbled under her breath. "Maybe she is right when she says you're nothing but an overgrown child..."

But Zack heard that and sat up. "She said what?"

"Forget about it Zack."

He just shook his head. "I hate people like that. People who think they are so great just because they get good grades and teachers like them. I thank God everyday that I'm not like that!"

Addison sighed. "Whatever...I'm going to go say goodbye to her. Just leave her alone from now on, okay?"

"Why should I? What's she going to do?"

"Well...she once told me she neutered a bull with her bare hands...Think about that."

Zack winced hearing that. "Really?"

"Uh huh. I saw pictures..."

"You'd step in, wouldn't you, Addie? Like I said...you're the only sibling I have..."

That caused Addison to look away and pause. Before her mother had died, they had been looking through photo albums together. But one picture in particular had caused her a great deal of confusion. There were three babies lying in a bassinet together. She had asked her mother about who the third child was, and due to the pain meds her mother was on, she told Addison everything. One was her. One was Zack. And one was...

"Addie?"

She looked up. "Huh?"

"You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just spaced out for a minute. Anyways, I'm off to see Bailey. Try to behave yourself while you're gone."

Zack just shrugged and laid back on his bed. He had better things to think about. Like sweet young college coeds he would soon be charming in Austin. He couldn't help but smile. His type of girl was one who was beautiful, athletic, cool and knew how to have a good time. Only problem was, he hadn't met anyone like that yet. But maybe he would while he was gone. He just knew his three weeks at UT were going to be ones he would never ever forget.

The next morning, Kurt took Zack to Sea-Tac Airport and got his bags checked. And when they had done that, Kurt walked him over to security.

"Zack, I want you to behave yourself while you're gone..."

Zack grinned. "You mean don't do anything that you used to do when you were younger?"

Kurt smiled but quickly wiped it off his face. "Something like that. I just don't want to have to come pick you up because you got kicked out of college before you were even enrolled in one."

"I'll try...No promises that I'll be able to, but I'll try."

"Good."

"What about you though...Are you going to be alright with out me? For so long, its been me and you against the world, Dad."

Kurt nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He laughed. "I don't think Addison would let us be otherwise. Besides, we're heading back into the studio to work on our comeback album..."

"Why? We already have plenty of money from all of your royalties."

He smiled. "Its about the love of the music Zack. Music has been one of the two great loves of my life. I could never give it up."

Zack paused. "What's the other love of your life?"

Kurt paused. "Don't worry about it. Anyways, I'll be here when you get back. Just remember to have fun and don't do anything crazy..."

Zack kept at his Dad though. "Was the other one my Mom?"

That silenced Kurt, but Zack kept talking.

"How come you never talk about her very much?"

Kurt shook his head. "You better get going or you're going to miss your flight."

_To be Continued..._


	3. A Bumpy Start

_Chapter 3_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

_Austin, Texas_

At the University of Texas, Zack and Cody both got themselves acclimated very quickly. The campers in both the math and basketball camps were assigned to different dorms next to each other where both would be sharing a dorm suite with three other guys. For Cody, he got along from the very beginning with his suite mates as they all began making bad math puns from the very beginning. His three roommates could easily be called nerds, but they were all nice guys. Of course, hearing that Cody had at one point had a girlfriend elevated him in their eyes, and they looked at him as their unofficial leader based on that. Plus, it didn't hurt that his calculator was the top of the line model and better than theirs.

In the dorm next door, Zack too was getting along with his roommates. All of them were soon to be sophomores like Zack who were looking to move from their freshman teams to the varsity teams and, in the process, bypass the junior varsity teams. And they all liked to have fun too and were pranksters. Zack had a good feeling that the next three weeks were going to be a blast. And his first day on campus, his roommates and him snuck over to the dorm holding the girls from the cheerleading camp to meet some babes. After calling dibs on who got who, Zack strolled over to the one he had targeted and smiled at her.

"Hey, Sweet Thang..."

The girl smiled back at him. "Hey yourself..."

"I'm Zack...but you can call me the guy you've been waiting for your whole life."

She giggled. "I'm Marcy. Nice to meet you, Zack."

He kept grinning. "I'm here with the basketball camp, but I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner later on in the dining hall?"

"Yeah...I'd like that. Sounds like fun. What time?"

Zack paused. "Well, we have to some stupid hall/team meeting at 6:30, but we should be done within an hour. How does 7:30 sound?"

"Sounds good to me. See you then..."

Later that evening, Cody and his roommates had just left their hall meeting where they had been issued their brand new compasses and protractors for the camp. They were all excited talking about them as they headed over for the dining hall. The other three guys got in line for the hot food, but when Cody saw the expansive salad bar they had, he headed right over for it. Since their was no line for it, he got his food rather quickly and found a table to sit down at. Just as he was about to dig in, a girl sat down right across from him.

"There you are. I guess you got out of your floor meeting early, huh?"

Cody just looked at her in confusion. "Excuse me...do I know you?"

Marcy laughed again. "Teasing me, huh? Good one, Zack..."

Cody frowned. "Ummm...I've never met you before in my life. And my name's not Zack...its Cody."

Marcy stopped laughing and just looked at him. "You're still just teasing me, right?"

He shook his head. "Sorry...I can show you my learner's permit if you..."

Before he could finish though, four guys surrounded his table, and one in particular was glaring at him.

"What do you think you're doing? Mary over here is supposed to be my date for the evening!"

Marcy looked up at Zack in confusion. "First...its Marcy. Second...I thought he was you!"

Zack just laughed. "Oh please..."

One of his roommates spoke up. "Well...to be fair, Zack...that guy does look a whole lot like you..."

Zack smirked at him. "Get real. Yeah, we're both blonde and maybe a few similarities. But on me, this works. On him...blehhh."

Cody grabbed his tray. "Look. This has nothing to do with me. I'm just going to go find my friends..."

Zack stopped him. "I'd watch your back if I were you. No one tries to mack on my date and gets away with it! I'd advise you to stay away from Mandy from now on!"

She sighed. "Its Marcie..."

Cody just kept walking away not quite sure how he had got involved in all of that, but he was hoping that everyone would just forget about it. But Zack wasn't about to let it go. As he studied Cody and his roommates across the dining hall, a devious scheme began forming in his mind. And once he explained it to his roommates, they were all down to pull a prank on the nerds.

A few days later, Cody had just woken up and headed for the bathroom to get ready for his day. And as he was closing his eyes to heed mother nature's call that morning, he suddenly realized something was different. His feet were getting wet. Looking down, he noticed that someone had covered Siran wrap over the toilet. Immediately, he freaked out and felt disgusted. As quickly as he could, he headed for a shower stall to clean himself off. Upon returning to his room, he immediately relayed to his roommates what had happened, and two of them said the same thing happened to them. The fourth one just hung his head in shame and said he had been tricked by it too, but that he hadn't been urinating.

Cody shook his head. "I guarantee I know who is responsible for this!"

"You're evil clone?"

He sighed. "I don't think he looks anything like me, but I think that Zack guy is responsible..."

His roommate shrugged. "What can we do about it?"

Cody grinned. "We get even. I think I know of just the thing to do. Remind me to stop by the little campus store tonight..."

A few days later, Zack was heading for the shower himself after another grueling day of scrimmages. He turned on the hot water and just hung his head letting the hot water refresh him. Finally, he cleaned up, turned off the water, wrapped his towel around him and stepped out of the stall. At the same time, all of his suite mates did the same thing. And when they all saw each other, they screamed.

A few hours later, Cody and his friends watched as Zack and his friends walked into the dining room. And seeing them all now a shade of orange, they couldn't help but laugh. As Zack walked past their table, Cody began singing.

"Oompa Loompa...Oompa a Dee Dee. Mess with us, and we'll get even with thee..."

His friends began laughing again as Zack and his friends just glared at them.

"What did you do?"

Cody smirked. "Nothing. Just like you all didn't attempt to Siran wrap our toilets, right?"

Zack smirked back. "Orange jello in the shower heads. Such an amateur move."

A few days later, Cody and his roommates came back to their dorm room only to find it completely trashed. There was silly string everywhere and shaving cream and chocolate syrup covering the walls and windows.

Cody shook his head. "Gentlemen...they may have started this, but we're going to finish it!"

A few more days later, Zack and the rest of the basketball campers were in the midst of even more scrimmages when Cody and his friends slipped into their locker room. Cody handed them each a small spray bottle.

"What's in these again?"

Cody grinned. "A little thing called liquid heat. Its used to help soothe sore muscles. We're just going to help them out after their practice. Now, I was nice enough to dilute it with watert. Full strength, and...well, I'm just not that cruel of a person."

"So, what are we supposed to do?"

"Simple. Go through and douse all of the boxers with them. Once were done, we sit back and watch..."

An hour later, Cody and his friends hid behind some bleachers and just watched as Zack and his friends came out of the locker room. They were laughing about something until one at a time, they all began to fidget and hop around.

"Is anyone else feel like they are on fire?"

Zack was grimacing. "Yes! My boys are burning!"

They all looked at each other before running back into the locker room screaming out in pain. Cody and his friends just all began laughing until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see one of the basketball camp counselors glaring at him. Next thing he knew, he was being marched off to an office. And fifteen minutes later, Zack was marched in as well. The basketball counselor just glared at them both until one of the counselors from the math camp showed up as well. And then the basketball counselor began yelling.

"Alright, boys...I've had it up to hear with your prank war!" He pointed at Cody. "I'm going to have you thrown out of here for this latest stunt!"

Cody spoke up. "We didn't start it...we just defended ourselves! If you want to throw someone out.." He nodded towards Zack. "...throw him out. He started all of this."

The math camp counselor nodded. "I tend to agree. Why should Cody be thrown out for standing up for himself? We encourage all of our campers to stand up for themselves. Your guy started it, so he should be the one to face the consequences."

The counselors glared at each other. "He put liquid heat in their boxer shorts!"

"So? Did you see what he had done to my guys' bathroom and their dorm room? As far as I'm concerned, he got exactly what he deserved!"

They were still going back and forth when then head of UT summer programs came into the office and whistled loudly to shut them up.

"Enough! Its obvious you both are sticking up for both of your campers..." He smiled. "I have a better idea. Boys, head back to your dorms and pack your things."

Zack spoke up again. "We're both getting kicked out?"

"Even better. I'm going to make you two room together the rest of your time here!"

An hour later, Cody and Zack had both packed up their things and moved to a regular dorm room designed for two people. As they unpacked again, they didn't say a word to each other. Their first few days staying in the same room with each other, they both refused to speak to each other. They would simply wake up, go get cleaned up and head off in their separate directions. And that routine would probably have continued for their remaining time in Texas if fate hadn't stepped in. They each had a week of their camps left when Cody got up one morning to head for the showers. But when he tried to open the door, the handle broke off into his hand. Zack was right behind him and rolled his eyes.

"Good job, Egghead!"

Cody turned to glare at him. "Oh yeah...I really meant for that to happen. Being stuck in a room with you is so my idea of a good time..."

Zack glared back. "It probably is! Being here with me will be the highlight of your year!"

Cody just shook his head. "You know...if I hadn't promised my Mom that's I'd stay out of trouble, I'd...I'd...well...I'd do something really bad!"

Zack smirked at him. "Oh please...Don't hurt me. Besides, if I hadn't promised my Dad that I wouldn't get kicked out of here, I would have already given you a swirly by now. Heck, maybe I should call my Dad and ask him if I can anyways. Maybe he can give your Dad one and we'll make it father/son bonding!"

Cody just stood there. "Well, that might be a little difficult. I don't know where my Dad is. I haven't seen him since I was a baby. But I guarantee my Mom would take yours..."

Zack paused too. "Well, that might be a little difficult too. I don't know where my Mom is. I haven't seen her since I was a baby. But the one thing I do know is that she was a babe. And I know she could take yours any day of the week."

Cody smirked at him. "Doubtful!"

"I know she could. I actually have a picture of her." He walked over to his bag and pulled out a small box. He opened it and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and stuck it in Cody's face. "See! My Mom could definitely whip your Mom!"

But Cody went silent. That wasn't a picture of Zack's Mom...that was a picture of his Mom! He headed over to his bag and pulled out a similar box. And he pulled out a picture too. He walked back over and showed it to Zack.

"This is the only picture of my Dad that I have..."

Zack just looked at it and blinked several times. "But...but...but that's my Dad!"

Cody paused. "And the picture you have...that's my Mom!"

They held the pictures up to each other and realized that they were both half of one larger picture. Both just stood there in shock letting themselves take everything in. Cody shook his head.

"Wait a minute. If my Mom is your Mom..."

Zack continued. "And my Dad is your Dad..."

Both just looked at each other. "That would make us...brothers!"

Both sank into their beds dealing with the enormity of that realization. Zack finally spoke up again.

"How old are you anyways?"

Cody looked up. "I'm fifteen. I just turned fifteen on March 16th..."

Zack's eyes went wide. "I just turned fifteen on March 16th..."

Cody's head began spinning. "We aren't just brothers...We're twins!"

__To be Continued...__


	4. Switcharoo

_Chapter 4_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

_Austin, Texas_

Zack and Cody both just sunk even further back into their beds. Both were overwhelmed thinking about the implications of what they had both just discovered. At the same time, both felt confused, sad and angry. Confused by the recent knowledge that was turning their worlds upside down. Sad that they had gone fifteen years without knowing of the other's existence. And angry that their parents could not only have separated them but also never felt the need to tell them about each other. Finally, Cody took a deep breath.

"So...do I have any other siblings I never knew I had?"

Zack looked up at him and shook his head. "No. Well, not really. Addison is like a sister, but no biological ones." He paused. "Do I?"

Cody shook his head too. "No. I can't believe Mom and Dad did this to us! Where do they get off screwing with our lives like this?"

"I don't know. I'm still dealing with the fact that I have a twin brother. One...from what I can tell...is absolutely nothing like me!"

"Well...we're twins...not clones of each other. While our DNA is 99.999999999% the same, there are going to be some differences."

"Yeah...but you're a nerd!"

Cody rolled his eyes. "And you're a jock! Trust me...you aren't the only one who has been thrown for a loop here..."

Zack sighed. "So...what are we supposed to do now?"

Cody paused and reached over for his cell phone. "I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to call Mom and get some answers!"

He was about to dial his Mom's number when Zack stopped him. Cody looked up and saw his new twin brother grinning at him.

"What?"

"I have a better idea."

"I'm all ears..."

Zack's grin widened. "I say we get a little payback on them first. I say I head back to Boston and you back to Seattle. We have an entire summer to mess with their minds. And at the end of the summer, we find a way to switch back. That way, we are no longer the ones in the dark. They are!"

Cody shook his head. "That would never work."

"Why not?"

"For starters, you know absolutely nothing about my life in Boston. You don't know any of my friends or my routine or who I am. The only person you'd be able to fool right now would be London..."

Zack kept grinning. "True. Right now, I would have no chance of pulling it off. The same with you with my life in Seattle. But...we can teach each other everything we need to know. We have a week left here to get down the basics..."

Cody just looked at him. "You're serious about this?"

"Dead serious."

Cody paused. It would actually be nice to finally get to know his Dad for once. And he had never been to Seattle before...that he remembered. The more and more he thought about, the more and more he began warming up to the idea. Finally he sighed and shook his head. "We better get started then. We have a lot of work to do. But...we switch back before school starts. I've worked long and hard to have a perfect attendance record and GPA. No offense, but I refuse to let you screw that up!"

Zack laughed. "Fine by me...And this works out perfectly. You can do my summer school work for me!"

Cody hung his head, but they immediately got to work. Both pulled out their cell phone to show pictures and began giving the other detailed descriptions of the people they would see on a regular basis. Zack gave Cody the lowdown on their Dad, Addison, Addison's Dad, Billy, his basketball coach, his teammates and everyone else he could think of. Likewise, Cody gave Zack the lowdown on their Mom, Woody, London, Esteban, Mr. Moseby and everyone else he could think of too.

Cody paused. "Wait a minute. Do you have a girlfriend?"

Zack shook his head. "No way. No way the Zack man settles on just one..." He paused. "I know the answer to this is probably no, but what about you?"

Cody smirked at him. "Not currently, but you might run into Barbara, so I should tell you a little bit about her. Like...don't get her mad or she'll stomp your foot. I would ask about the girl's you've dated, but you've already shown you can't remember names, so I should be alright..."

"Ha ha..."

Cody paused. "There is one thing you're going to have to do if this is going to have any chance of working..."

"What?"

"Cut your hair."

Zack frowned at him. "No way! Chicks dig my hair! You have any idea how long it took me to get my hair to come down to my shoulders?"

Cody sighed. "Exactly. I will have only been gone three weeks. No one will ever believe my hair grew that much in such a short span."

"Can't you just say you used some Rogaine?"

Cody just gave him a look. "Not a chance, Goldilocks. You're tresses will have to go."

Zack sighed. "Oh...alright. I can grow it back later."

"Tell you what. You can keep them until the day before we have to leave. That way, there will be less questions from people around here."

So, up until the day they had to leave to head back to Boston and Seattle, they kept quizzing each other over the things they needed to know. And on the day before they left, Zack did indeed get his hair cut to match the haircut that Cody had. And by the morning they had to leave, they thought they had covered everything...though both would soon learn there were a few things they forgot to tell each other.

"Now, if anyone asks, you can't play basketball for the rest of the summer because you tweaked your ankle and aren't supposed to do any jumping on it."

Cody nodded. "And you'll avoid doing anything like trying to cook in the hotel suite. I've written down everything you need to do for London's webshow. And you have my cell phone number in case an emergency comes up."

"And you have mine too."

Cody paused. "And how exactly will we pull off switching back?"

Zack just grinned. "We'll worry about that later. I'll come up with something."

So, three weeks after they had left to come to Austin and a week after their worlds had been turned upside down, Cody found himself on a plane towards Seattle and Zack on a plane towards Boston. When both landed, they were a little worried about how everything would go despite their careful planning.

_Boston, Massachusetts_

Arriving at Logan International Airport, Zack departed the airplane and walked through the concourse towards baggage claim. Suddenly, he realized he wasn't sure what to expect exactly. He kept looking around, but nothing looked familiar to him at all. The one thing he did notice was that everyone had deep Boston accents. He briefly wondered if he would be able to pull off one of those off, but he remembered that Cody didn't have one. Walking over to baggage claim, he didn't see his bags. But then he remembered he was using Cody's bags and quickly found them. It wasn't too hard as there was a tag attached them with all of Cody's information on them.

"Cody!"

Zack didn't immediately turn around, but then he remembered that he was supposed to be Cody. He turned around and saw a red headed woman smiling at him and coming right at him. It was his Mom. Carey walked over to him and engulfed him into a huge hug.

"You're home! I missed you so much!"

For the first time in his life, Zack wasn't sure what to say. How do you handle the first time you see your mother that you actually remember? Carey pulled back and looked at him.

"You didn't miss your old mom?"

Zack felt his emotions getting to him and choked out a whisper. "Yeah...I did. More than you can imagine..."

Carey paused. "Are you okay, Cody?"

He swallowed. "Yeah. I'm fine. Guess I'm just anxious to get home."

She smiled. "Good. And I'm glad your home. I think Woody's been counting down the days until you got home. He practically driving Chef Paulo crazy." She began laughing too. "London too. She's been complaining about him producing Yay Me! so much that I think she's actually missed you."

Zack had to laugh at that. He didn't know London Tipton, but he had read about her in magazines and heard everything that Cody had told him about her. "Imagine that..."

Carey finally got Zack outside to and hailed a cab. And the whole ride back to the Tipton Hotel, Zack kept looking around taking in Boston. When they drove past Fenway Park, he was practically plastered against the window of the cab looking at it in awe. Finally, they got back to the hotel, and Zack finally got to see the majesty of the Tipton lobby.

To himself, he mumbled. "This place looks awesome..."

Back up on the 23rd floor, he began looking around the suite. He looked at Cody's meticulously clean room and cringed. Something would have to be done about that. But more than anything, he looked around at all of the pictures in Cody's room. He picked up one of Cody and his Mom when Cody was about five or six, and Zack felt a pang of jealousy.

"Are you feeling okay, Honey? Looks like something is wrong."

Zack turned and saw his Mom looking at him in concern. He nodded. "Yeah. I guess...ummm...due to the jet lag, I'm not quite feeling like myself today..."

_Seattle, Washington_

Arriving at Seattle-Tacoma Airport, Cody departed the airplane and made his way through the concourse to baggage claim. Remembering he now had Zack's bags, he quickly found them. At the moment, he was glad he had inserted Zack's name on the temporary tags available at the Austin airport. Once he had them, he turned around but not quite sure what to expect.

"Zack!"

Cody looked around and that's when he saw him. His Dad. At that moment, Cody found himself go through the full gauntlet of emotions again that he had felt a week earlier. The one prevailing one was that he was finally meeting his Dad. But he didn't have time to think any further as he found himself being lifted up in a big bear hug.

"There you are, Zack. How was basketball camp? Learn any new moves to use to trick your opponents?"

Cody just looked at him when Kurt sat him down. He swallowed. "You could say I learned all kinds of things while I was there..."

Kurt laughed. "Good." He stopped laughing and paused. "What happened to your hair?"

Cody paused. "Oh...ummm...well, I was sweating so much during practices that I cut it to keep it from getting in the way."

"Not a bad idea." Kurt began laughing again. "Probably a good thing anyways. The hair band look went out in the 80's anyways..."

Cody found himself laughing too. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Come on. Let's get you home. She'll never admit it to you, but Addison's missed you too."

Kurt lead Cody out to a very nice sports car, and they began driving back towards the Martin house on Puget Sound. And as they passed the Seattle Space Needle, Cody looked at it in awe. To him, it was such an awesome display of engineering and architecture. Finally, Kurt and Cody arrived at the house, and Cody was taken aback by how large it was as well as the dock right on Puget Sound. He remembered Zack saying their father had done fairly well for himself, but he was impressed. Cody lugged his bags up to where Zack said his room was and shuddered in disgust when he finally saw it. The place was a pigsty. He would have to do something about that. But that was when he noticed a picture of Zack and his Dad on the dresser. In the picture, Zack looked to be about five years old. And that's when the painful feelings returned, and Cody realized everything that he had missed out on.

"Getting settled back in?"

Cody turned around real quick, and Kurt noticed the look on his face.

"Everything okay, Zack?"

Cody collected himself and nodded. "Yeah. Must be jet lag. Not quite feeling like my usual self I guess..."

Kurt nodded. "Well, why don't you take it easy tonight. I hope you and Addison can look after yourselves for a while because Billy and I have to run down to the studio for a little while."

Cody nodded. "No problem."

Kurt smiled. "Good. Oh...keep open next Saturday night. I have a surprise for you."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: I did have a review where someone said I had written Bailey as a jerk. How? She hasn't even been really introduced in this story yet. And, like I say at the top of every chapter, I always keep the characters as true to themselves as I can. If you don't, what's the point of using the characters in a story anyways? What's the point of writing them to do things they would never do? That would be a slap in the face to the characters who we already know so well.**__  
><em>_


	5. Getting Acclimated

_Chapter 5_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so...

_Boston, Massachusetts_

Zack spent the most part of the afternoon unpacking his...or rather Cody's things. And going through Cody's closet, he could just shake his head in disgust. He wasn't aware that it was possible to own that many sweater vests. In fact, going through Cody's entire wardrobe, Zack didn't think he would ordinarily be caught dead wearing at least ninety percent of it. But he sighed and reminded himself that he wasn't currently Zack. If he didn't want people to catch on to their rouse, he was going to have to pretend to be Cody the best that he could.

"Finally settled back in?"

Zack looked up and saw his Mom smiling at him. "Yeah. As much as I ever will be I guess."

"Good. Well, I have to head down for my rehearsal and then my show. But the good news is Woody just called to see if you were back yet, so he's on his way over. I left some money on the kitchen counter. Why don't you two go out and get something to eat? I'll see you when you get back."

Zack nodded. "Okay." He paused. "Maybe I can come check out your show sometime this week?"

Carey laughed. "Really? You haven't come to one of my shows in almost two years. You're the one who keeps telling me to get new material."

Zack laughed nervously. "Well...I haven't heard you sing in so long...I just figured I'd check it out."

She shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Just let me know when. I'll see you later, Sweetheart." And with that, Carey kissed his forehead and headed out for her rehearsal. Zack went back to Cody's closet and finally found something to wear. And by the time he had finished changing, there was a knock at the suite's door. He headed out to open it figuring it would be the Woody guy Cody had told him about. But it wasn't. Instead, it was someone he would have known even if Cody hadn't told him all about her.

"London Tipton?"

London stormed into the suite. "Thank God you're back! If I had to deal with Stumpy for one more day..."

"You mean Woody?"

She just looked at him. "Whatever...Point is you're back now and Yay Me! can get back to normal!"

Zack nodded. "Okay, okay..." He paused and smiled to himself. "Actually, maybe not..."

London glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

He grinned. "Sounds like you really need me to do this. Maybe we should renegotiate how much you pay me to do your show..."

"But I don't pay you anything!"

"Maybe its time you started paying me then..."

She gasped. "You want money?"

He smirked at her. "Of course...Don't you always say I would be able to do more things but I can't because I'm poor? Well, I decided I don't want to me poor any more..."

London just looked at Zack for a minute before she nodded. "Huh...You know, Cody...there may just be hope for you afterall. We'll talk later about money...after the next Yay Me! If its up to your normal standards, we'll see what we can do." She smiled. "I always knew hanging around me would finally rub off on to you. Now, if I can only get it to rub off on to Maddie..."

Zack laughed. "Sounds like a plan then."

She shrugged. "Oh well...Little ol' me is off to Paris." And with that, London left as well.

Zack just shook his head and laughed. Nothing wrong with making some money while he pretended to be Cody. Besides, Cody would thank him later for his foresight. He shrugged and grabbed the money off of the kitchen counter and was about to head out and explore Boston a little further. It was a big city...there had to be some good looking girls around there somewhere. He opened the door to the suite and came face to face with a larger boy with glasses and crazy hair.

"Cody!"

The next thing Zack knew, he was being picked up and crushed to death. He gasped. "Need air!"

Woody sat him down and smiled at him. "Just so good to have you back. Without you around, I had to put up with Steve all the time."

Zack paused to think and remembered Cody telling him that Woody had a sadistic stepfather. "Good to see you again, Plywood..."

Woody frowned. "What did you call me?"

"Plywood." Zack shrugged. "Lets get out of here and hit the town."

Woody shrugged it off and smiled again. "So, what do you think?"

Zack just looked at him. "Of what?"

"You can't tell the difference?"

Zack shook his head. "Nope."

"Dang it!" Woody pouted. "I got my braces off finally. I figured you of all people would notice. We've been talking about it for months now!"

"Oh..." Zack paused. "Well, you know...I still have jet lag. It causes my mind to act funny for a few days."

"That happens?"

"Of course." Zack grinned. "I'm the smart guy, remember?"

"Oh yeah...Lets get out of here then."

Zack and Woody headed out of the hotel and down the street. The found a burrito place, and to Woody's surprise, 'Cody' really wanted to eat there.

"I thought after the last time we ate here and you got sick that you said you'd never eat her again..."

"Oh...well. Time to make myself get over it."

Woody shrugged, and they both proceeded to chow down on some burritos. And as they were walking back towards the hotel, they cut through the park. And it was a good thing they were outside as Woody's body soon started making noises.

Zack laughed. "Oh my gosh! That sounded just like an owl!"

Woody laughed too. "Thank you. I've been working on that for weeks." He paused. "You used to always roll your eyes when I farted before."

Zack smiled. "Woodster, Texas changed me. I'm seeing things in a whole different way."

They kept walking through the park and passed the basketball courts. And they would have kept walking except someone shouted out "Cody!". Zack completely forgot that was the name he was supposed to answer to until Woody nudged him and pointed to the direction of the voice. And when Zack turned around, his mouth fell open in shock. Standing there was this petite brunette in a ponytail. Zack's first thought was that she was a total babe.

"Yeah?"

The girl smiled at him. "I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Maya..."

Zack grinned. "I don't see how anyone could ever forget you..."

Maya blushed a little. "Thanks...Look, someone of us were looking to play some basketball, and one of our regulars didn't show up. I know sports aren't your thing, but would you do us a favor and fill in?"

Zack kept grinning. "It would be my pleasure..."

_Seattle, Washington_

Kurt had headed out back to the studio, and Cody took time to look around Zack's room once again. The current state of disarray simply would not do. So, Cody went about cleaning it up. He even found the vacuum cleaner and disinfectant so everything would be spotless. When he was done, he looked around at his work and was satisfied with it. To get it to the standards he would normally demand would take most of the next day, but he had to keep it to a level that Zack would have it at. Then he began looking through Zack's closet. At first glance, he began to wonder if his twin brother was a skater wannabe. Shaking his head, he finally found a polo shirt that was acceptable. He had just finished changing when the door to his room burst open.

"You're back!"

The next thing Cody knew, he was engulfed in a tight hug. He noticed the person doing it was a petite girl that he surmised was Addison. He was impressed that someone so small was so strong. In fact, she was beginning to crush him.

He gasped out. "Can't breathe!"

Addison released him and stepped back and smiled at him. "Sorry. How was Texas?"

"Ummm...Lets just say it was life changing."

She laughed. "Let me guess, you..." She stopped and paused. "You cut your hair..."

Cody shrugged. "It was very hot and humid down there. It just made sense to cut it off. I can always grow it back later."

Addison nodded. "Probably not a bad idea." She looked around his room and frowned. "What happened in here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your room has never looked this organized and clean before."

"Oh...ummm...my roommates there were complete pigs and even I got tired of the mess."

She laughed. "We should have gotten them around you a lot sooner then. Its just good to have you back. Without you or Bailey around for three weeks, I almost went crazy..."

Cody paused. Who was Bailey? Zack never mentioned anyone by that name.

Addison continued. "Well, it looks like its just you and me tonight, and we're on our own for dinner. Want to order a pizza?"

Cody shook his head. "No need. I can whip us up something. It'll be a lot more nutritious and healthy than a pizza would be."

She just looked at him funny and placed her hand on his forehead. "Huh...you don't have a fever."

Cody laughed nervously. "Well, I've been sort of self sufficient for the past three weeks. I guess I'm still in that mode."

"You must be. I fully came in here and expected to have to unpack your bags for you."

"No need. Already done and placed into appropriate sorted piles in the laundry room. I was planning on running a few loads after we eat."

Addison just looked at him again. "Okay..."

Cody headed off to the kitchen and began going through the refrigerator, pantry and cabinets. He didn't have much to work with and vowed to go to the grocery store soon. But, he found enough to fix fettuccine Alfredo with some Italian sausage. He was in the midst of preparing everything when Addison came into the kitchen holding her teddy bear. She was about to say something when she took a whiff.

"What smells so good?"

Cody smiled. "I told you I was going to fix us something. What's up with the bear?"

Addison frowned. "The eye of Mr. Woody fell off..."

Cody had to hold back a laugh. "Mr. Woody, huh? Tell you what. Go find a sewing kit, and I'll fix it."

She just looked at him again. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. If your hurry, I can get it done while the sauce is simmering."

Addison just nodded and came back in a few minutes with a sewing kit. Cody didn't bat an eye and immediately threaded a needle and began sewing the bear's eye back on. When he finished, he smiled and handed the bear back to Addison. "There you go...Good as new."

She just stood there dumbfounded. What was going on here? But she couldn't say anything as she watched Cody finish making them dinner. And when he served it, she was wary of eating it. But once she tasted it, she was really in shock.

"This is delicious! We really should have sent you off to camp sooner!"

Cody just laughed. "Thanks...I think."

About that time, Cody was startled when a cat jumped up on the table with them.

"Whoa..."

Addison laughed. "Don't worry. That's just Sprinkles. Without you here, she actually came out of hiding and was enjoying herself."

Cody just sat there as Sprinkles came up to him and began sniffing him. She meowed at him before she began sniffing him again. Then, she walked over into his face and actually licked him and purring. Cody began laughing and petted her as Addison looked on in shock yet once again. Once dinner was over, she was even more surprised when he cleaned up their plates and scrubbed them before putting them in the dishwasher. She was about to say something when there was a knock at the back door. Addison went over to answer it and found her other best friend Bailey standing there and smiling.

"I'm back. I just wanted to stop by and see you before..." She stopped when she saw Cody in the background scrubbing the dishes. "...Anyways, its good to see you again, Addie."

Addison smiled. "Good to see you again too, Bailey."

Cody heard that name again and turned to see who it was. And when he did, he had to grab a hold of the sink to steady himself. Standing there in the kitchen was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen before in his whole life. Even from across the room, he could see she had the warmest brown eyes and the most dazzling smile.

"Wow..."

Addison and Bailey turned to him when they heard him speak.

"Did you say something, Zack?"

Cody paused. "Oh...I...ummm..."

Addison sighed. "Would you mind giving us a few minutes, Zack?"

Cody nodded. "Of course. I'll just go put a load of laundry in the washer. Then, I should probably get started on my summer school homework..."

With that, Cody took one last good look at Bailey before turning and heading off with Sprinkles following right behind him. Addison and Bailey just looked at each other in surprise.

"What was that?"

Addison shook her head. "I don't know. Ever since Zack's been home, he's been acting weird."

"How so?"

"Where do I start? He actually cut his hair. Zack swore he would never do that. Two, he actually unpacked his own bags. Three, he actually cleaned his own room. Four, he cooked our dinner tonight, and it was delicious. Five, the eye of Mr. Woody fell off, and he actually sewed it back on. And then there was the weirdest part yet..."

Bailey just looked at her. "Weirder than all of that?"

Addison nodded. "You know how I always told you that Sprinkles and Zack never got along? And how she would always run away from him?"

Bailey laughed. "Of course. I always knew that was a smart cat..."

"Well, she came up to him and began sniffing him again. She meowed at him and then began licking his face. And you just saw how she ran off after him!"

Bailey paused and laughed. "Please tell me you don't think aliens kidnapped him and switched him with a fake one. Because if they did, I think we'll keep the new one!"

Addison shook her head. "I don't know...Its almost as if...as if..." She paused and began laughing. "No, that would be impossible..."

__To be Continued...__


	6. Ruh Roh, Raggy

_Chapter 6_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

_Boston, Massachusetts_

Zack and Woody followed Maya back over to the basketball courts, and Zack began stretching. That was one of the things he learned the hard way at basketball camp. If he didn't stretch out, he was liable to pull a muscle. So, as he was stretching, Woody leaned down and whispered to him.

"What are you doing, Cody?"

Zack just smiled. "Just playing some b-ball, Woodchuck. And it doesn't hurt that that a total babe asked me to play with her."

Woody frowned. "But just before you left for Texas, you said Maya wasn't your type. Texas must have really changed you..."

Zack just looked at Woody in confusion. Not at anything Woody had said but what Cody had supposedly said. How was Maya not Cody's type? She was gorgeous and she liked to play basketball. What more could any guy ask for? Then he paused to think. From what he remembered, Cody was the smart and sensitive type. He shook his head. No self respecting girl liked that kind of guy. But he wasn't worried about that right now. He had a basketball game to play. He walked over next to Maya and smiled at her.

"We ready to play?"

She smiled back at him. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Zack was about to say something else when he sensed someone else had joined them.

"This is who you got to play with us? A chair would be a better player than Nerd Boy here would be!"

Maya rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Theo! We needed another player, and Cody agreed to play. For once in your life, try to be nice..."

Zack sized up this Theo guy in his mind. Almost instantaneously, he was positive – he didn't like him. But he didn't have much more time to worry about it as it was time to divvy up teams. And Zack did everything he could to make sure he was on the same team as Maya. From the get go, Zack was impressed. Not only did Maya play basketball, but she was actually really good. That just caused her to earn even more bonus points in his mind. Throughout the game, Zack actually found himself holding back a little bit. In his mind, he could take everyone on the other team off the dribble and score at will. But he was more than happy to set Maya up with nice passes. He smiled to himself as he realized it wouldn't hurt to look like a good guy and teammate in front of her.

"Nice pass, Cody!"

Zack smiled at Maya. "Even better shot, Maya!"

The next play down the court, Maya returned the favor and passed the ball to Zack for an easy layup. And when he went up for the shot, he suddenly felt a push to his back and he want falling underneath the basket. As he laid on the concrete trying to get his bearings again, he heard arguing.

"What was that all about, Theo? That was definitely a foul!"

Theo smiled at Maya. "You know the rules. No blood, no foul. Besides, its Martin. I can't let him think he'll ever get the best of me in anything..."

Maya glared at him, but Zack was livid. If that was the way this Theo guy wanted to play things, Zack had no problems playing the exact same way. Back on defense, Zack slipped his foot in between Theo's, and when Theo tripped, Zack grabbed the ball and ran down for an easy lay up.

Theo just glared at him. "Hey! That was a foul!"

Zack just smirked back at him. "I believe it was you who said no blood, no foul, correct?"

Maya laughed at that. "That's right, that was you who said that Theo..."

Theo just kept glaring at Zack. He tried to drive on Zack again, but Zack used legitimate defense to steal the ball from him and lead a fast break. It ended when he passed it behind his back to Maya for a lay up. The rest of the game flowed the exact same way. Zack's desire to teach Theo a lesson caused him to totally forget he was supposed to be Cody. He used every basketball move he knew, and his team ended up winning big. And the next few games went the same way. They continued playing until it got too dark outside, and everyone had to head home.

Maya smiled at Zack. "Okay...what was all of that? I never knew you were the athletic type!"

Zack smiled back. "Well, I like to think I'm a guy of many talents..." He paused and finally remembered to tone it down a notch. "Besides, when I was in Texas, I met a guy there for their basketball camp named Zack who taught me a few things..."

She laughed. "Well, it looks like you were definitely paying attention..."

"I try...Especially with those things right in front of me. What about you though? I didn't know you were so good!"

She blushed a little. "You really think so? I was on the freshman team last year. I'm hoping to bypass the jay-vee team and make varsity this year."

He laughed. "I know that feeling all too well."

She paused. "You do? I didn't know the academic bowl team had a junior varsity team..."

Zack paused to think quickly. "Oh yeah...Its very competitive."

Maya shrugged. "Huh...you learn something new everyday. Anyways, we're supposed to play again tomorrow night. You think you'd want to join us again?"

"I'd love too. But, how would you feel about us going to see a movie tomorrow afternoon first?"

She smiled again. "Cody Martin...are you asking me out on a date?"

He smiled back. "Well...my last name is Martin and I believe I just did. So, what do you say?"

Maya reached into her pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper and wrote down her phone number. "I'm thinking you should call me in the morning and we'll figure out the details from there."

"Sounds like a plan..."

Maya smiled at him again before heading off in the opposite direction. Zack just stood there grinning when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"What the heck was that?"

Zack turned and saw Woody looking at him strangely. He began laughing.

"Woodford...that was me getting a date with a total babe for tomorrow..."

Woody paused. "Can you ask her if she has a friend to bring along for me?"

"Sorry, Man. Not this time. Let me have the first date all by myself to use the Za..." He stopped himself. "...Martin Magic on her. Then I'll see what I can do."

Woody nodded. "Sounds good to me. I should have sent you to Texas a lot sooner."

Zack laughed. "Thanks...I think." He noticed the park was quickly getting deserted. "I think this means its time to head home."

Woody nodded and they were about to turn and leave when Zack saw an Asian girl with glasses glaring at him.

"I can't believe you, Cody!"

Woody cringed. "Awkward!"

Zack just looked at the girl in confusion until it finally dawned on him who it was. Cody had warned him about her – it was Cody's ex-girlfriend, Barbara.

_Seattle, Washington_

Cody put a load of clothes in the washer and headed back to Zack's room. He pulled out Zack's summer school packets and began looking at them. Looks like he needed to do some work for World History and Pre-Algebra. He pulled out the math work he had to do and began laughing. He had just taken Calculus the previous year at Cheevers High, so this shouldn't be any problem at all. As he sat down and began doing the problems, they were as easy as he thought they would be. And since they were so easy, it left time for his mind to wander. And when it did, it only wandered in one direction – to the beautiful angel he had just met.

For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why Zack had never mentioned her before. But right then, that didn't really matter. Cody knew he had told Woody he would know the girl for him when he met her, but this was a little crazy. He had just seen her briefly and knew nothing about her. Still...there was just something about her. Cody shook his head. He couldn't think things like that. He was just pretending to be Zack and couldn't do anything to throw a monkey wrench into Zack's life. So, he focused back on the math problems in front of him. And with the utmost concentration, he found himself finishing all of the problems rather quickly. Once he finished them, all he would have to do was take a final test covering the material.

He closed the math book and was about to pick up the history book when Sprinkles jumped up on to the desk and meowed at him.

Cody smiled and scratched her behind the ears. "You like that, huh?"

Sprinkles meowed again and began purring. That caused Cody to think. "Wait a minute..." He looked at the cat. "Can you tell that I'm not really Zack?"

He was greeted by another meow and another lick to his face.

Cody smiled again. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

Sprinkles meowed again, and Cody laughed. "Thanks...So, what can you tell me about Bailey?"

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Bailey just looked at Addison in confusion.

"What's impossible?"

Addison shook her head. "I can't tell you. I promised my Mom I would never say anything."

"Come on, Addie...you can tell me. I won't tell anyone else. I promise."

Addison paused to think and sighed. "I guess it would be nice if someone else knew about this. Follow me..."

Bailey nodded and followed Addison to her room. Once they got there, Addison closed and locked the door behind them.

"Addie...what's going on?"

Addison smiled and went over to her dresser. She rummaged through a drawer and came back over to Bailey holding something in her hand.

"Look at this..."

Bailey did and discovered it was a photograph. She looked up at Addison. "I don't understand. Its a picture of three babies."

"Yeah..." Addison sighed. "The one in pink is me. And the one in green is Zack..."

"Who is the one in blue then?"

Addison collected herself. "That would be Cody...Zack's twin brother..."

Bailey just looked at her as if she was crazy. "Twin brother? What are you talking about?"

Addison patted her bed, and Bailey sat down next to her. "Its true. When Zack and his brother Cody were still babies, their parents split up and divorced. Seems Kurt wanted to head out on the road with his band while their Mom wanted a more stable environment for them. Well, they couldn't figure out how to divide custody..."

Bailey finished for her. "Are you telling me that they split them up and each took one of them?"

Addison nodded. "That's exactly what happened."

"Then why has Zack never told anyone he has a twin brother?"

Addison sighed again. "Because he doesn't know. I wasn't supposed to know, but I found that picture and forced my Mom to tell me the whole story..."

Bailey just shook her head. "This is the craziest thing I've ever heard! Are you telling me that...that...that that person who was cooking and cleaning earlier maybe be this Cody person?"

"I don't know. If it is, it would explain a whole lot, but then it would open up a lot of other questions like how he ended up here. Besides...there's no way to prove it really isn't Zack..."

Bailey smiled. "Addison, Addison, Addison...that's why we have Google!"

Addison looked at her funny. "Huh?"

"Get your laptop out."

Addison reluctantly did so, and Bailey began typing away on it.

"Okay...when I Google 'Cody Martin', there are..." She paused. "...450,000 results. Hmmm. What was their mother's name?"

"Carey."

Bailey began typing away again. "Okay...when I Google "Carey & Cody Martin', there are...127 entries. We can work with that. Let me try this first one."

Bailey kept clicking on links until she found one for something called the Tipton Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. And when she opened it up, her eyes went wide.

"Addie! Look at this!"

Addison did, and her eyes went wide. There was a picture of Carey and a twelve year old Cody. "The Tipton Hotel would like to announce that Carey Martin is joining our family as our in house cabaret singer. Carey and her son, Cody have moved here from Branson, Missouri." Addison looked up. "And look at the picture! The boy in the picture looks just like Zack did a few years ago!"

Bailey shook her head. "What the feathers? This is getting weird..." She paused and returned to Google. "Lets see what happens when we try 'Cody Martin Boston Massachusetts'."

She clicked enter and the first link provided was to a school called Cheevers High in Boston. When the webpage loaded, Bailey saw it was a student profile page.

Addison began laughing. "That picture looks just like whoever it is in the other room!"

Bailey paused. "Well, they are twins..." She began reading the profile. "In addition to being ranked number one in his class and being on the honor roll, Cody is a member of the cooking club..."

Addison interrupted her. "Which explains how he knew how to cook!"

"...the home economics club..."

"Which explains how he knew how to sew!"

"...the math club, the science club, the birdwatcher's club, the Latin club, the foreign language club, the National Honor Society, Mensa, the academic bowl team, the mathletes..."

Addison began laughing again. "His list of interests is almost the mirror image of yours..."

Bailey nodded and frowned. "You're right...Sounds like he is the complete opposite of Zack."

Addison teased her. "Maybe you two would actually get along then?"

Bailey rolled her eyes. "While this gives credence that it could be him, but how do we prove it?"

Addison paused to think. "I have no idea...Its not like we can just go up to him, ask him and hope he admits it."

Bailey just looked at Addison and smiled. "Addie, you're a genius! Come with me!"

Cody was looking at the World History textbook when there was a knock at his door. He looked up and told whoever it was to come on inside. The door opened, and Addison and Bailey walked inside smiling at him. Cody just smiled back.

"Hey..."

Bailey kept smiling. "We aren't interrupting you, are we?"

Cody shook his head. "Not at all. I could use the break."

"Good. Would you mind if I asked you a question, Cody?"

Cody smiled again. "Ask away. I'll be glad to help in anyway I..." He paused and the smile faded from his face. "You just called me Cody..."

__To be Continued...__

**AN: 1) To the person getting vulgar and essentially threatening me to update my other stories...not cool. 2) Someone in another review said exactly what I've been unable to so far. Remember, in this story, Zack is still 15 and grown up with out a motherly figure or Cody in his life to help keep him grounded. If you want an example, think back to Bermuda Triangle and how Cody was in the alternate universe when he grew up in much the same way. Add in the fact that Zack is the more impetuous and outgoing of the two, and its easy (at least to me) to see that he would be even worse. And remember, when Bailey first met Cody in the AU, she didn't like him or get along with him at all at first either. Of course, she is naturally drawn to Cody's inner self, so she eventually overcame that when she saw there was a decent person underneath. Remember, this story isn't over yet and eventually, Zack and Bailey may learn to tolerate the other.**__  
><em>_


	7. Confessions and Surprises

_Chapter 7_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

_Seattle, Washington_

Cody just slumped back in his chair and hung his head. He hadn't been able to even keep up the charade for even twenty-four hours before being found out. If not for the situation he found himself in, he would have began laughing. When he and Zack had concocted this crazy plan, he thought for sure that it would have been Zack that would have blown their cover first. But no...it had been Cody to do so. Steeling himself, he looked back up at Addison and Bailey and sighed.

"How did you know?"

Addison just looked at him as it fully dawned on her that it was in fact Cody. "So...you really are Cody and not Zack?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. I guess a week of learning who each other was wasn't enough to pull this little facade off..."

Bailey finally spoke up. "A week...what are you talking about?"

Addison joined in. "And how long have you and Zack known about each other?"

Cody gave a small laugh. "Known each other existed...three weeks. Known that he was in actuality my twin brother...one week. So, I'm still getting used to the fact that I have a twin brother that I never knew about. Look...I'm sorry about all of this. It was never my intention to upset anyone with this..."

Addison shook her head in confusion. "I don't understand. What happened then?"

"You two might want to sit down. Its kind of a long story..." They sat down on the bed and just kept staring at him. "Up until three weeks ago, the only life I knew was that of me and my Mom. She's the cabaret singer at the Boston Tipton Hotel, and before that, we had constantly moved around when she got better jobs. Well, about three years ago, she got the job in Boston and we've been there ever since. Well, this summer, I wanted to go to this physics camp at Cal Tech..."

Addison turned to Bailey and spoke up. "That's the one you went to Bailey!"

Bailey nodded but kept looking at Cody. "Yeah...it was."

Cody's eyes lit up though. "Really? You went to it? I really wanted to go it and have the chance to learn under Dr. Cooper and Dr. Hofstadter. I loved all the papers they have written on string theory..."

Bailey's eyes lit up too. "You know what string theory is?"

He smiled. "Of course. I wrote a paper last year on string harmonics." He laughed. "I don't think my physics teacher had any idea what I was talking about though..."

Bailey had to laugh too. "I know what you mean. I wrote a paper on supersymmetry breaking last year, and my teacher was the same way..."

Addison interrupted them. "Can we get back to the story, please?" She shook her head. "Looks like I have two people now who know so much about things I could care less about..."

Cody smiled. "Of course...by the way, my buddy Woody at home says the exact same thing. Anyways, my Mom didn't want me to go all the way across the country and preferred me to stay closer to home and go to the physics camp at MIT. So, we compromised, and I went to the applied mathematics camp at the University of Texas..."

Bailey's eyes went wide again. "I almost went to that one! They were going to be focusing on approximation theory, and I thought that sounded fascinating!"

Cody smiled at her. "Oh, trust me...it was! I bet physics camp was just as fascinating though. I hear Dr. Cooper is...one of a kind."

Bailey laughed again as Addison rolled her eyes. "Can we get back on topic again?" She paused. "Wait a minute...the University of Texas...that's where Zack went for basketball camp..."

Cody nodded. "Yeah, and our first encounter wasn't exactly an amicable one. You see, I headed over to the dining hall with my suite mates and I had just sat down at a table when this girl I had never seen before sat down across from me..." He went on to explain their his and Zack's first altercation and proceeding prank war. And hearing what Cody and his friends had done to Zack, Bailey and Addison were laughing so hard they were almost crying.

"Oh my gosh! I've known Zack for forever, and I've never heard of anyone getting Zack back like that before."

Cody had a small smile. "I admit, it felt kind of good at the time, but not one of my proudest moments. I prefer to work out disagreements peacefully, but I felt pushed to have to retaliate in kind. Anyways, the head of summer programs at the university made Zack and I room together from then on hoping to diffuse the situation. To say we had a cold war would be an understatement. Well, about a week ago, we got into yet another argument. Somehow, he brought out a picture of his mother he had, and I brought out a picture of my father that I had. We quickly realized that his mother was my Mom, and my father was his Dad. And when we compared birthdays, it dawned on us that we were twins." He sighed. "So, in a quick moment, my whole life had changed..."

Bailey nodded feeling sympathy for him. "I bet that must have been some moment..."

He let out a small chuckle. "You're telling me. I just found out my life had been a complete lie. It dawned on me that they were so many unanswered questions I had. I wanted to call my Mom immediately and demand some of those answers, but Zack said he had a better idea..."

Addison smiled. "He thinks he always does..."

"He suggested we turn the tables on them. We would switch places, and it would be us that had the secrets on them for a change..." He paused. "But to be honest, I just wanted to finally get to know my Dad, so I agreed to it. I mean...I had gone my whole life without knowing who my father was. So, when offered the chance to finally get to meet him, I jumped at it. So for the past week, we tried to teach the other as much as we could about our lives. That's how I knew who you were Addison." He smiled at her. "Zack speaks very highly and affectionately of you and even says you are a sister to him..." He stopped and frowned. "Wait a minute! How did you know that I even existed?"

Addison paused and pulled out the picture of them as babies again. She then told him the same story that she had told Bailey earlier. "I promised my Mom on her deathbed that I wouldn't never tell Zack or Kurt that I knew. In retrospect, maybe I should have. I had no idea how it would truly affect you too when you would find out. Sorry..."

Cody just smiled at her. "Don't worry about it. I can understand why you kept your silence, and I don't blame you. Anyways, the cat found its way out of the bag anyways..."At that mention, Sprinkles jumped up into his lap and began purring again. Cody just laughed. "Sorry, Sprinkles...it was a figure of speech."

He paused and sighed. "Well, I guess I should call Zack and let him know our plan is now ruined and time to end the charade. Then I guess I need to sit Dad down and tell him the truth..."

Addison smiled at him. "Why would you do that? Nothing is ruined."

"Huh?"

"You came here to get to know your Dad. I can understand that. I'd do anything to be able to spend more time with my Mom, but I can't. But you're getting your chance, and I want to help." She smiled. "Besides, Zack is like a brother to me, and by extension, so are you. I mean look at this picture...we go way back. I'd like to get to know my other brother."

Cody smiled back at her. "Really?"

"Really. I'll do whatever I can to help you out, and I won't say a word to anyone."

"Thanks. I've never had a sister either. After everything Zack told me, I wouldn't mind getting to know you as well." He laughed. "Before now, the closest I've had to a sister is London Tipton..."

Addison's eyes went wide this time. "You know London Tipton?"

"Yeah. She's a good a friend of mine. Can be kind of materialistic and dense at times, but underneath, she still has a heart of gold." He paused. "I wonder if Zack has run into her yet. I wonder who else he's run into by now..."

Addison smiled. "If he has, I'm sure Zack has figured something out. He always does. But for the time being, I would really like it if you would stay."

The whole time Addison and Cody were talking, Bailey was just sitting back observing Cody. Of course, the resemblance to Zack was uncanny, but then again, they were twin brothers. But she was quickly seeing that only their exteriors were similar. Actually, the more she studied his face and his mannerisms, she was picking up differences between them. But she realized she could do that because she knew to look for differences. Anyone else probably wouldn't notice.

But it was what was his personality and demeanor that were really intriguing her. Based on what she had read and what she was experiencing first hand, she was looking at the anti-Zack. While Zack could be brash, cocky and never serious, she was getting a completely different vibe from Cody. His eyes had literally lit up when she mentioned going to physics camp and genuinely seemed to enjoy things like that. Beyond that, he had a completely different personality to him. He appeared to be warm, kind and compassionate, and Bailey found herself being inexplicably drawn towards him. If she was honest with herself, she didn't want to see him leave so soon either.

She smiled and finally broke her silence. "Count on me to help in any way I can as well..."

Cody smiled back. "Thank you both...I really appreciate it. And if you see me acting too unlike Zack, just let me know..."

Addison laughed. "We'll try."

Bailey spoke up again. "But just around us, just be yourself."

"Thanks again..." Cody sighed and reached for his cell phone. "But, I should call Zack and let him know I've already been found out." He paused and smiled. "Would you two like me to put it on speakerphone so that you can erase all doubts that there are really two us?"

Bailey smiled back. "I don't think we have any doubts about that whatsoever, but it might be fun..."

_Boston, Massachusetts_

Zack just looked back and forth between Woody and who he believed was Barbara. Woody looked genuinely afraid while Barbara continued to glare at Zack. He paused to fully take her in. She was attractive if you went for the brainy type...but Zack didn't. And the death glare she was giving him indicated to him that she was not very happy at all. Zack tried to remember what Cody had told him about her. He did remember Cody telling him story about why they broke up, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember what it was.

"So...Barbara...what's up?"

She just kept glaring at him. "I can't believe you, Cody! How dare you ask out that other girl right in front of me!"

Zack just looked at her. "Easy. One, because I wanted to. Two, I didn't see you standing there. And three, last time I checked, you are my EX girlfriend..."

"Because you've never given me a chance to make it up to you!"

Zack paused. He really wished he remembered what Cody had told him about their break-up. He just shrugged though. "As far as I can tell, I'm single and she is single, so there is no reason Maya and I can't go see a movie together. No big deal."

Barbara was about to say something when Woody said something. "Yeah. No big deal. Cody dumped you, life goes on. Besides, didn't I..." She turned to Woody and glared at him while she lifted her foot.

"What were you saying, Woody?"

Immediately, Woody dropped to the ground and curled in to the fetal position. "Please don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me!"

Zack sighed. "Get up, Woody and pick up your dignity and manhood while you're at it." He turned back to Barbara. "Look..."

She interrupted him. "Cody, you have to give me another chance!"

He sighed. And then it hit him. He didn't remember what Cody had said about the break up, but he was remembering Cody saying don't make her mad unless you wanted a broken foot. Zack had a big day planned for tomorrow, and a broken foot definitely would ruin those.

"Look...we're broken up. You have your life now, and I have mine. It was fun while it lasted, but its over now..."

"But..."

"No buts." He smiled. "Besides, something tells me that Maya and I have a lot more in common than you and I ever did..."

Barbara looked at him incredulously. "How can you say that? We're both in orchestra together. We're both on the academic bowl team together. You and her have NOTHING in common!" She shook her head. "I make one little mistake, and you won't ever let me forget it. If it helps, I haven't seen Bob since that day!"

Zack just looked at her. He was getting a feeling that it was this Bob that caused the break up of Cody's relationship with Barbara. And then the thought crossed his mind that Barbara had cheated on him. For some reason, Zack felt his blood beginning to boil. How dare she do that! No one did that to his...he paused and shook his head. He almost began laughing. Zack had only known Cody was his brother for a week now and already he was protective of him.

"Sorry, Barbara. Once a cheater, always a cheater."

She just looked at him and tears began forming in her eyes. "But that's not true! I made a horrible mistake! One that I'm paying for every day!"

Zack shrugged. From what he remembered, Cody didn't seem too broken up over the relationship, so he figured he'd get this girl out of his life once and for all.

"Sorry. A relationship without trust is no relationship at all. I hope you have a nice life, just don't hope or expect me to be a part of it..."

Zack paused as he said that. Had he really just said that? He tried to convince himself that was something Cody would say, but he had this nagging voice in the back of his head telling him that he was absolutely right when he said that. Zack shook out of his thoughts when he saw Barbara break down crying and run off. He just stood there when Woody walked back over to him.

"You okay?"

Zack turned to see that Woody had a genuine look of concern on his face. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Woody nodded. "Good. I was going to tell you I saw her out with Bob last week while you were gone. But when she threatened to stomp my foot again..."

Zack laughed. "Well, I appreciate that you were going to tell me. You're actually a good guy, Woody." He paused. "You remind me of someone I used to know. Someone I grew up with. She always had my back too."

Woody frowned. "Who are you talking about? You've never mentioned anyone like that to me before..."

Zack shrugged. "I was younger when I knew her. Anyways, its dark and we should be getting back. Besides, I told my Mom I wanted to stop by and see her show. Lets go."

So, they headed out of the park, and Woody headed home while Zack headed back into the Tipton. Walking through the lobby, he began looking around at it again and decided to try to find the cabaret. And when he heard music and singing, he headed in that direction. Finally finding the cabaret, he stood outside and listened to his mother performing.

As he stood there, he realized that his mother really did have a beautiful voice. He smiled as he listened to her, but he soon found himself agreeing with Cody. She definitely needed some new material.

"She sounds good tonight, doesn't she?"

Zack turned and found himself looking at a taller guy with thinning hair and glasses held together by masking tape. That could only be one person that Cody had described to him.

"She sure does, Arwin. You heading inside?"

Arwin shook his head. "Actually, no. I'm about to head home and get cleaned up. The is new woman who just moved into my building and she offered to fix me dinner."

Zack just looked at him in surprise. From everything that Cody had told him, Arwin was head over heels in love with their mother. Cody had even said Arwin had a life sized cut out of her.

"Arwin...you have a date?"

He nodded. "Yeah. No offense to your Mom, but I decided to finally move on. Your Mom is still in love with someone, but she'll never admit it. Even I know when to walk away..."

Zack just stood there and looked at Arwin again. His Mom was still in love with someone? He paused and wondered. Could that person be their Dad? Zack stood there and realized there were still a ton of questions that he and Cody had no answers to.

"We can still be buds, right?"

Zack looked back up at Arwin again. "Yeah. Of course. Good luck with your date tonight. I've actually got one of my own tomorrow."

Arwin smiled at him. "Good for you. I always told you some girls actually go for the geeky type. Looks like its finally paying off for the both of us."

"Yeah...I guess so."

Arwin left, and Zack turned his attention back to his mother's performance. He just stood there enjoying the show when he felt his pocket began vibrating. He pulled out his cell phone and saw it was 'Zack' calling.

"I wonder how things are going for him in Seattle...

__To be Continued...__


	8. The Phone Call

_Chapter 8_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

_Seattle, Washington_

Cody had dialed Zack's number and then hit the speakerphone button on his phone. Turning the volume all the way up so everyone could hear, he sat the phone on the desk. After several rings, Zack finally picked it up on the other end.

"_What's up, Broseph? How are things going in Seattle?"_

Cody paused. "What did you just call me?"

"_Broseph. I call everyone by a nickname." He laughed. "You should have seen the look on Woody's face when I called him Plywood!"_

Addison smiled and spoke up. "Its true. He's always calling me Addie..."

There was a pause on the other end before Zack finally spoke again. _"Addie is there with you? What the heck happened?"_

Cody had a wry smile on his face. "Lets just say my early attempts at being you weren't so convincing. Addison quickly figured out I wasn't you..."

_Zack sighed. "Great...Good one, Codester!"_

Addison laughed. "Don't worry about it, Zack. I completely understand what you two are trying to do, and I want to help in any way I can." She paused and contemplated mentioning Bailey was there too, but she decided against it.

"_Thanks, Addie...Since it seems Cody can't do this by himself, I'm glad he'll actually have you there to help him out."_

"It will be my pleasure. Besides, someone figured him out before I did...Sprinkles."

"_Your cat? I thought that thing was gone. I haven't seen him in like six months!"_

Addison laughed. "Well, he's laying in Cody's lap right now purring." She teased Zack. "I think she actually likes him..."

They could almost hear Zack roll his eyes. _"Anyways, is anyone else suspicious?"_

Cody was about to speak up and mention Bailey was there too when Addison cut him off. "Again, don't worry about it. We have everything under control." She laughed. "Besides, Cody is actually a good cook. I want to keep him around for a while."

"_I can just feel the love, Addie. I..." _There was a pause at the other end. _"Ummm...Addie...you don't seem all that surprised by all of this..."_

She sighed. "Because I already knew..." She explained for the third time about finding the picture and what her mother had told her. "I'm sorry I never told you, but I was honoring my Mom's request..."

_"Its not your fault. I still blame Mom and Dad for this mess we are in." He sighed. "But...I have to say, from what I've seen so far, I really like Mom. She seems great."_

Cody smiled. "Yeah. She is. She can't cook worth a lick though, so be forewarned. One time she made us salt encrusted pork and forgot the pork..."

_Zack shuddered. "Thanks for the heads up. Oh, speaking of being forewarned, I ran into your ex-girlfriend earlier..."_

Cody sighed. "Great. Let me guess...she was begging for another chance again, right?"

"_Yeah, she was. And for the life of me, I couldn't remember why you said you two had broken up. But when she mentioned some guy named 'Bob', I quickly put two and two together. Tough break, Man. Personally, I've never been cheated on, but I imagine it has to suck..."_

Cody just sat there and shook his head. "Yeah, it did." He paused, and for some reason, he saw Bailey out of the corner of his eye. "But as time passes, I've gotten over it and realized there are other fish in the sea..."

At the same time, Bailey just looked at Cody after hearing about what Barbara did. She didn't know why, but she felt her heartbreaking for him and anger at a girl she had never met. But hearing that he had gotten over her surprisingly made her feel better.

"_That's good because you...or rather I...have a date tomorrow."_

Cody just stared at the phone. "Excuse me? You have a date? With who?"

"_Her name is Maya. Funny thing is your boy Woody said before you left for Texas that you had said she wasn't your type. Dude! She's a total babe, is cool, and she loves sports! What's not to like? What is your type anyways?"_

Cody just sat there for a second thinking of how to answer that. And as he was thinking, Bailey was extremely curious to hear his response.

"Well, I prefer a girl who is smart, sweet, kind, accepts me for who I am...you know...someone I can just be myself with and that's okay."

_Zack laughed. _"_Good luck finding that!"_

Addison just shook her head, but Bailey had a small smile break out on her face. Addison spoke up again.

"Just be careful, Zack and remember to be a gentleman. Remember, everything you do reflects back on Cody. I'm sure he wouldn't like it if you ruined his reputation..."

_Zack sighed. "Fine. I'll try to be good." He paused. "By the way, Codester, your boy Woody is alright. Not the brightest bulb in the world, but a genuinely good guy."_

Cody smiled. "Yeah, he is. When I moved to Boston three years ago, he and I hit it off and we've been best buds ever since. A word of warning though...don't be around him after he's had Mexican food."

_Zack laughed. "Too late for that. The boy is a genius when it comes to what he can do with his farts!"_

Cody cringed. "Unfortunately...I'm all too aware of that fact."

"_Speaking of being aware of facts. Did you know Arwin has a date tonight?"_

"He does? With who?"

"_Some woman who lives in his building. I thought you said he had the hots for Mom, but he told me that he realized she was still in love with someone else and knew it was time to finally move on. Did she ever mention anything about that to you?"_

Cody paused. "No...not really. I told her she should give Arwin a chance, but she told me she was just fine with the way things were. But that would explain why she hasn't had more than a handful of dates that I know of..."

"_You think she's still in love with Dad?"_

"I have no idea. Every time I've always tried to talk to her about him, she always changed the subject." Cody stopped to think. "Has Dad ever said anything about her?"

"_He changes the subject too...Though, right before I left for Texas, he and I were talking. He said music was one of the two loves of his life. But when I asked him about what the other was, he just told me to hurry or I'd miss my plane. You think he was talking about Mom?"_

"I don't know, but I can do some snooping here to see what I can find. After all, I am president of the Boston Holmies..."

"_The what?"_

"Its a group that are fans of Sherlock Holmes and fancy themselves as pseudo private eyes."

"_Well, see what you can find. And Addie?"_

Addison spoke up. "Yeah, Zack?"

"_Make sure he doesn't ruin my reputation while he's there!"_

She laughed. "I'll try."

"_Alright, call me if you find anything or if something else comes up."_

Both sides hung up, and Cody sat there looking at his cell phone before he turned back to Addison and Bailey.

"Zack's right. I have to do better in pretending that I'm him. And as long as I have you two around, you can help me. But tomorrow, I have to start summer school for him. How am I supposed to do that with potentially screwing up again?"

Addison sat there thinking, but Bailey smiled as she had an idea. "That's an easy one. I'm supposed to be helping tutor during summer school. I can just get assigned to you so I'll be there to help you out."

Cody sighed in relief. "Really? That would be great!"

"Don't worry about it. What subjects does he have to be taking?"

"Pre-algebra and world history. I...ummm...well...I've already done all of the pre-algebra homework, so all I would have to do is take the test..."

Bailey smiled at him again. "Well, that's one down. That just leaves world history..."

Cody paused. "Yeah...about that. It says here I have to do a paper and then take a test. But I'm left with a moral quandary."

"What's the quandary?"

"Well...I'm supposed to write a paper on a figure in European history. In fifth grade, I wrote a paper on King Louis XIV. Technically, I'm going to have to write the paper anyways, but would it be unethical to just use one I've already written before? I mean...it would be a paper I wrote, and no offense to Zack or to toot my own horn, a paper of mine from fifth grade might match one he wrote for freshman year..."

Bailey laughed. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that. But, I can definitely see your concern." She smiled. "I say it says a lot about your character that you even debated with yourself whether or not to use it. But under the circumstances, I don't see why not. Like you said, technically, you did write the paper. And it would give you more time to focus on other things." She paused and tried to cover herself. "You know...like getting to know your Dad..."

Cody smiled back. "Thanks. I just need to log into my network and pull it up. I've archived every paper I've ever written there."

"I've done the exact same thing!"

He laughed. "I took the extra step and threw in a random paragraph in each one to thwart would be thieves. In this particular one, I added a paragraph saying that I had an irrational fear of bananas..."

She laughed too. "That's genius! That way if someone stole it, the teacher who read it would see that paragraph and they would be busted..."

"Exactly!"

"That's a great idea. Would you mind if I borrowed it?"

"Not at all. In fact, I'd be honored if you did."

Just then, the buzzer for the dryer went off.

"If you ladies will excuse me, I need to go switch out loads of laundry. Be right back." After saying that, Cody left the room with Sprinkles right behind him.

Addison just turned to Bailey and smiled as she shook her head. "Wow..."

Bailey turned to look at her. "What?"

"Oh please..." Addison began laughing. "I saw your face when you heard about his ex-girlfriend and when he said what his type was. Add that to the constant smiles and laughing, and its quite obvious..."

Bailey broke eye contact. "What's obvious?"

"You know...it is okay for you to admit that you are interested in him. I won't say anything..."

Bailey sighed. "I just can't explain it. For reasons I can't even grasp, he intrigues me. He's like no one I've ever met before..."

Addison grinned. "Other than physically, right?"

"Even there, I can tell some differences. But its more than that. I mean, you read his student profile and saw the way he lit up talking about physics and math. And by the way...yeah, he's also very nice and considerate, and its obvious he cares about his mother and friends. So, he's got brains, personality, and he's cute. I...I..." Bailey sighed. "I don't even know what I'm saying..."

Addison wrapper her arm around Bailey's shoulders. "Its okay. I was just taken by surprise...that's all. I mean...in the year you've lived here, I haven't seen you show any interest in any guy. And then in a matter of hours, you're tongue tied by a guy who is the twin brother of someone you hate..."

Bailey sighed. "I don't hate Zack. He's just not someone I would prefer to spend my time with. We have absolutely nothing in common, and even you have to admit he comes off like a jerk sometimes."

"Well...yeah. Sometimes. But then again, I've known him my whole life. So, I'm used to him. And remember, he's spent the majority of his life without having a mother to help reign him in or to give him a female role model. I know I'm here, but I'm not an authority figure to him." She smiled. "Who knows? Maybe having Cody in his life now will have an impact on him."

"Maybe you're right..."

Addison kept grinning. "Besides, if you keep crushing on his brother, you're going to have to deal with him being around..."

Bailey just shook her head. "I knew I should have kept my mouth shut about that..."

"About what?"

Both turned to see Cody carrying a laundry basket back into the bedroom.

Bailey paused. "Oh...I was just talking to Addison about the situation with you trying to get to know your Dad, but I realized I shouldn't try to interfere.

Cody smiled at her. "Hey, if you have any good ideas, I'm all ears. It will be kind of weird having a real male role model in my life for a change. For the past three years, all I've had were Arwin, Esteban and Mr. Moseby. None of them would be considered...manly men." He laughed. "That and being raised by my Mom probably explains why I'm not the most...manly of boys either..."

Bailey smiled back at him. "I wouldn't necessarily call that a bad thing. I mean...you can cook, clean, sew and are responsible. Those are very admirable traits..."

Addison just looked at her and shook her head. She turned back to Cody. "Well, since tomorrow is a school day for you two, we might should be calling it a night..."

Cody and Bailey both looked at each other and reluctantly nodded. Neither was in any hurry for the night to come to an end, but both realized Addison was right.

"Addie's right. Tell you what though...since you don't know where the school is, I can stop by tomorrow and walk there with you if you want..."

Cody smiled again. "Thank you once again. I'd really like that."

Bailey smiled again too. "Sounds good. I'll meet you here at 7:30."

"Good...if you want to come early, I'll have breakfast made for everyone."

Addison spoke up. "I don't think so. Zack doesn't cook. He has trouble making pop tarts."

Cody's face fell. "Oh yeah. Well, then I can at least buy you a croissant or something on the way?"

Bailey laughed. "I think that would be okay. See you at 7:15 then."

Addison just shook her head again. "Just make sure you two are quiet that early in the morning. I don't have to be anywhere, and I'd like to sleep in!"

_Back in Boston, Massachusetts_

Zack hung up the phone and just looked at it. "Dang it, Cody! If he isn't careful, he's going to ruin our whole plan! How am I going to make this work here in Boston if Cody gets busted that easily in Seattle..."

He shook his head and left to head back up to suite. But as soon as he left, someone walked around the corner and just watched Zack walk away.

"Well, well...I must say...that was certainly interesting..."

__To be Continued...__


	9. A New Day Brings New Developments

_Chapter 9_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

_Seattle, Washington_

The next morning, Cody was up bright and early like he normally was. After showering, he headed back to Zack's closet to find something to wear for that day. Sighing again at his options, he finally settled on a polo shirt and cargo shorts. After making sure he had all of his books and homework packed into Zack's backpack, he headed off to the kitchen to wait for Bailey to arrive. And thinking about seeing her again brought a smile to his face. It even helped him suppress his urge to make breakfast like he was so used to doing. Right at a quarter till seven, there was a knock at the back door. Cody went over to answer it, and there was Bailey. And a night's sleep hadn't changed his mind in the least...she was still the most beautiful site he had ever seen.

"Come on in..."

She smiled at him. "Thanks. You ready for your first day of summer school?"

He smiled back. "Always. The first day of school is one of my favorite days of the year."

She laughed. "Mine too! It ranks right up there with..."

And at the same time, both exclaimed. "Earth Day!"

Cody grinned. "Exactly! We should always do our best to try to save the environment..."

Bailey grinned back. "I know! If we don't, what will be left for future generations?"

"My point exactly..." Cody grabbed his backpack. "How about we get out of here and go grab some breakfast?"

"Sounds good to me. Lets go." She smiled again. "I know you're not used to it, but this is Seattle. Don't forget your umbrella."

He laughed. "How did I forget that?"

They were about to head out the back door when they heard a voice from behind them.

"Leaving for school already, Zack?"

Cody turned around and saw his Dad standing there in his pajamas and a robe.

"Hey, Dad...Yeah, Bailey and I were just about to head out."

Kurt checked the clock on the microwave and frowned. "But its barely 7:15...I didn't even think you knew there was a 7:15 in the morning. I figured you'd wake up at the last minute and throw some clothes on..." He paused. "And it looks like you showered..."

Cody just looked at him. "Well...ummm...yeah. I guess at basketball camp, we had a tight schedule and had to shower everyday. I guess I'm still in the practice of doing that."

Kurt laughed. "Well, looks like we should have sent you there sooner." He was still half asleep himself, and it finally dawned on him the his son was actually hanging out with Bailey. That was weird. From everything he knew, those two did not get along at all despite both being good friends with Addison, but when he walked in they were joking around and smiling at each other. Kurt just shook his head. Maybe he had dreamed seeing that.

"Anyways, I know I haven't been around that much since you've been home, Zack. And I'm sorry about that, but we're almost done with our comeback album. But, I want to make it up to you. I got tickets to the Mariners game on Friday night. You in?"

Cody smiled. From everything he had seen, there wasn't a more American father and son activity than going to a ballgame together. "Sure, Dad...I'd love to go. Who are they playing?"

Kurt grinned. "Get this...its the Red Sox! We can go root against those elitist snobs from New England! You know, the ones who call the Yankees the evil empire but are just as bad..."

Cody gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah...that would be...great."

"Yeah, it will." He paused and smiled again. "Oh yeah...make sure you clear your calender for three weekends from now. I have that time off, and we'll take our annual father/son camping trip up to British Columbia. Should be a lot of fun."

Cody nodded again without much emotion. "Yeah...it does. Well, I need to be heading out if I don't want to be later. See you later, Dad."

Cody and Bailey headed out, and once they got outside, Bailey turned to Cody.

"I thought you'd be happy to be doing things with your Dad. You didn't sound to enthusiastic about his ideas though."

He sighed. "Trust me. I really am looking forward to it. I just don't know if I will be able to pull it off though. One, I'm a huge Red Sox fan. It will hurt to have to root against them. But even more problematic, I've never been camping before. I was a wilderness scout for about a week when I realized it wasn't from me. That, and I have allergies. How do I explain me sneezing my head off or even developing watery eyes or a rash to my Dad?"

She paused. "I don't know...but, we'll figure something out." She grinned. "We'll just make sure you pack a big bottle of Benedryl with you when you go."

Cody just laughed at that. The headed off towards Padua High, and along the way, they stopped to get a cup of hot chocolate and a scone at one of Seattle's many coffee houses. As they ate, they continued chatting with each other, and both found becoming more and more at ease and comfortable with the other. When it got to be ten minutes before eight, they finally made their way inside the school, and Cody just followed Bailey to the room he was supposed to be in. And once they got there, Cody encountered a man that he thought could have been called a mountain. It was then that Cody realized he had no idea what the teacher's name was. Fortunately, Bailey was one step ahead of him.

"Good morning, Coach Morris."

Coach Morris nodded. "Good morning to you too, Miss Pickett." He turned to Cody. "And good to have you back, Martin. Hopefully, you learned something in Texas."

Cody laughed nervously. "You have no idea how much I learned, Coach Morris."

"Good. I hope you have at least done a little of the work you were supposed to do..."

Cody smiled. "Actually, I've finished all of the math homework and the history paper." He reached into his backpack. "Here they are right here."

Coach Morris just looked at him in surprise. "You finished it all? You didn't cheat and have someone else do this for you, did you?"

"I promise you, Coach.._I_ can guarantee that _I_ did all of this work. I ran into a kid from Boston who tutored me in math, and Bailey here was a sounding board for my paper, but _I_ did all of the work myself."

The coach shrugged. "Alright. Well, you have nothing to do until the tests on Friday." He grinned. "Which is good because the team is in the gym practicing right now. Why don't you go join them and show them what all you learned..."

That caused Bailey to get concerned, but Cody didn't miss a beat. "Actually, Coach, I can't do that yet. My last day in Texas, I turned my ankle pretty bad. The trainer there told me no running on it or jumping off of it for a few weeks."

Coach Morris sighed. "Well, I don't want you playing on an injured ankle. I'd rather have you 100% when school starts back." He paused. "I guess you're free until Friday morning. Just stay out of trouble."

Cody and Bailey headed back out in the hallway, and he turned to her and laughed.

"Well, I guess I have nothing to do until Friday now, huh?"

She smiled at him. "How about I show you around Seattle then?"

He smiled back. "I'd like that."

They both began walking back towards the school front door when a group of guys came out of the gym. And when they saw Cody and Bailey walking together, they just stopped and stared.

"Good to see you back, Martin..."

Cody nodded. "Ummm...Good to be back."

One of the guys laughed. "I guess Texas really changed you then because you're now hanging out with the likes of Pickett here. You know what they say about Texas...only two things come out of there, and you ain't got any horns!"

Bailey grabbed his arm and tried to drag Cody away from them, but he held his ground. "Excuse me? What is wrong with me hanging out with Bailey?"

Another of the guys snickered. "Well, other than the fact that you both hate each other? Nothing..."

Cody was taken aback and just looked at Bailey in surprise.

_Boston, Massachusetts_

About the same time Cody and Bailey were entering Padua High to begin their days, Zack found himself finally climbing out of bed. Of course, the big difference being it was a little before eight in Seattle, but it was almost eleven o'clock in Boston. Stretching, he walked out into the main part of the suite to find his Mom sitting at the kitchen table sipping on a cup of coffee. When she saw him finally come out of his room, she just smiled and laughed.

"I was wondering if you were ever going to get up. I have to admit...I've never seen you sleep in this late ever before. That must have been one severe case of jet lag you had..."

Zack let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, it was pretty bad. Plus, I played several games of basketball yesterday, and that wore me out too..."

Carey just looked at her son in surprise. "You were playing sports again? I never thought I'd see this day ever again."

"Yeah?"

"Of course. When you were eight, you told me you were forever giving up sports. I thought once we found out that it was an astigmatism that was causing your depth perception, you would give them another chance, but you never did..."

Zack paused and kicked himself for not remembering that. "Well, we had a lot of free time down in Texas, so we played some basketball and football. I guess I learned they weren't so bad after all..."

She smiled at him. "Well, I'm glad about that. Its good to see you branching out and trying new things."

He grinned back. "Well, it didn't hurt that there was a cute girl playing too..."

Carey laughed and got up and hugged him. "Good for you, Honey. I'm glad to see you finally getting over what Barbara did and are ready to move on."

Zack nodded. "Yeah...I decided there were other fish in the sea."

"So, what's her name?"

"Maya. She just finished her freshman year too. She's really cool."

Carey grinned. "So...when do I get to meet this young woman?"

"I don't know. I'm supposed to be going to see a movie with her this afternoon."

"Oh really. Does that mean I'm losing my movie buddy?"

Zack shook his head. He did remember Cody telling him about that. "Of course not. But Mom...I am growing up. So, I will want to see the occasional movie with a female my own age who I'm not related to..."

Carey laughed again. "I see how it is. You grow up, and you're old Mom gets thrown to the curb. I guess I have to get used to the fact that my baby boy is becoming a young man..."

He paused as an idea came to him. "You know, Mom...you could find a substitute movie buddy when I'm not available. I'm sure a lot of guys would like to take you out to one..."

She just looked at him and shook her head. "I don't think so, Cody. I appreciate your concern for me, but please, just drop the subject..."

"If you say so, Mom. Just trying to be helpful."

"I know you are. Let's talk about something else though, shall we? Oh...that reminds me. Mr. Moseby stopped by here earlier this morning. He wanted to ask a favor of you."

"Of me? What did he want?"

"Well, he said that Saturday was his mother's birthday. Anyways, he had asked Chef Paulo to bake her a birthday cake, but he was swamped with the convention at the hotel this week. So, he remembered you making one for Norman the Doorman last year and was wondering if you could make one..."

Zack froze and tried to think of a way to get out of that. But before he could, Carey continued.

"I said you would be happy to and would have it ready Saturday morning. I hope that's okay?"

He sighed. "Sure. Its fine. One birthday cake coming right up..."

Zack just shook his head. He had never baked a day in his life. Even when he took Home Economics back during the 8th grade, he had made sure he was partnered with Addison. At that moment, he really wished he had paid more attention to what was going on than trying to flirt with every other girl in the class. Pausing, he realized if he did this on his own, he would fail miserably and his cover would be blown. And unlike Cody had with Addison, he didn't know this Moseby guy was and chances are he could say something to his Mom. He knew he was going to have to call Cody and have him either make it himself and mail it or walk him through making it.

"Cody?"

Zack looked up. "Huh?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I was just thinking about ideas for it." He shook his head. "I told Maya I'd give her a call this morning, so I should probably go do that."

Carey smiled. "Probably best that you did. Take it from a woman. If you tell her you're going to call her, make sure you do."

Zack laughed. "I'll have to remember that."

He got up and headed back into Cody's room. He grabbed his phone and pulled out the slip of paper Maya had given him last night from his shorts from yesterday. He began punching in the numbers when he paused and felt a foreign feeling to him. He was actually nervous about making this phone call. And for the life of him, he couldn't understand why. He had called enough girls before...why was this time any different? He tried shaking away the feeling and dialed the number. And after a few rings, Maya answered.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, Maya. Its me...Za...Cody. Cody Martin."

He heard her laugh. _"I know who this is. I was expecting your phone call after all..."_

He laughed too. "True. Have you changed your mind or are you still up for seeing a movie?"

"_I'm definitely still up for seeing one. But can I ask you a question first?"_

"Go for it."

"_Well, until yesterday, you seemed to act like I didn't even exist. I didn't even know if you noticed me or not."_

Zack smiled. "Well, lets just say that since my trip to Texas, I'm thinking of things in a whole new way. And if I acted disinterested, I apologize for that. I..." He paused. "...well, I had just gotten out of a relationship that ended badly, and I guess I wasn't ready to move on yet. I am now."

"_I'm glad to hear that. My turn to fess up now. I've kind of kept my eye on you for the past year or so. When I moved here from New York City, I was weary of guys. The last guy I dated had been a real player, and that completely turned me off. But I've seen that you aren't like that at all. I know you would never toy with a girl's emotions. That's why I feel safe enough going out with you. I know after your break-up, you know what it feels like to have that done to you..."_

Zack paused for a moment not quite sure how to respond to that. There was something about Maya that he found himself drawn to more than he had to any other girl in the past. Of course, if she knew about his true past, she would probably not want to have anything to do with him. But maybe this was a fresh start for him. He actually found himself honored and humbled by what Maya had just said. He even tried to ignore the fact that she was actually talking about Cody. "Thank you. I can promise you this. After what I've been through lately, being a player had no appeal to me..."

"_Good. So, what movie do you want to see?"_

He smiled. "You choose."

"_Really?"_

"Of course."

"_Well, there is this movie I do really want to see. I've heard great things about it. Its called 'Zombie Mom'..."_

__To be Continued...__

**AN: So people will quit posting comments about them, I promise to eventually get back to KTHB and NKOTB. I promise I haven't forgotten about them. I just ask that people respect that fact.**__  
><em>_


	10. To Tell the Truth

_Chapter 10_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

_Seattle, Washington_

Cody just looked back and forth between Bailey and the basketball players. To say he was taken aback and confused would be a major understatement. He looked again at Bailey, and she had a sad expression on her face. Was it true? Did she and Zack really hate each other? He sighed to himself, and remembering his own first encounter with Zack, he could see how that could be possible. If he hadn't found out that Zack was his twin brother, would he have felt any different about him? He couldn't be sure, but he would worry about that later. At that moment, he found himself in a precarious situation that he had to find a way out of quickly. So doing his best to channel his inner Zack, he came up with a quick idea that he hoped would work. He stepped towards the players and pulled them off to the side.

"What do you knuckleheads think you are doing? You're going to ruin everything!"

One of them just looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Cody rolled his eyes. "She was assigned to be my summer school tutor. You guys want me to be eligible to play right?"

"Well...yeah."

"Then it won't help me at all if you tick off my tutor..." He grinned. "Besides, I'm also trying to prove to her that I'm not that bad of a guy. If I can get her to lower her defenses, I can pull the mother of all pranks on her later. But I won't be able to do that if you idiots blow my cover. So, if you see me acting a little strange, that's what I'm doing!"

The players all began laughing. "Zack...you are the master! We'll play along. Just let us know if you need any help."

"And let you guys get some of the glory? I don't think so. Just head back into the gym and let me see if I can do damage control..."

They nodded and all headed back into the gym. When they were gone, Cody turned and found Bailey looking at him strangely. He just smiled back at her.

"Lets go somewhere where we can talk without worrying about interruption..."

She nodded, and they headed out of the school. And when they got far enough away from the school, she stopped him.

"Okay, what did you say to them?"

Cody just smiled and told her everything he had told the players. "It gave me a credible reason for 'Zack' and you to be hanging out together as well as an excuse if they think I'm acting funny. But no worries. There will be no prank. If they ask, I'll just tell them that you caught on to what I was up to before I could fully implement it."

Bailey laughed. "Not bad. Not bad at all. You think pretty quickly on your feet."

He nodded and paused. "So...is it true?"

She sighed. "Sort of. Its true Zack and I don't get along, but I wouldn't say I hate him. He's just not someone I'd prefer to spend my time with. He and I have absolutely nothing in common besides Addie..." She paused. "...and now you. Plus, he made my first days of school here a living nightmare..."

"What did he do?"

Bailey proceeded to tell him about the whoopee cushion incident as well as him destroying her science project. "I know I should be the bigger person, but he made me so angry..."

Cody smiled at her. "I think I know how you feel. I mean, I did tell you about the measures I resorted to when I first met him..."

She smiled back. "Trust me. I would have paid to have seen that."

He paused again. "I have to ask though. Will being seen with me cause you problems? Will your friends wonder what is going on? I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation..."

She smiled at him again. "I don't care about what other people think. And my one true friend here is Addie, and I think she already knows what's going on. But I appreciate you being worried about that. It says a lot about you."

Cody just shrugged. "Well...I just imagine it can't be easy for you. I mean...you look at me and see someone that you can't really stand to be around."

Bailey shook her head. "No, not at all. When I see you, I see Cody. And while you and Zack may be twins, you two couldn't be more different if you tried." Bailey paused again. "Besides...I like hanging around with you."

"I like hanging around with you two. After what my ex did, I wasn't sure I'd ever be this comfortable around another girl for a long time, but I am."

"I kind of know what you mean. My ex back in Kansas was a complete control freak. He thought of me as property and was always trying to tell me what to do. After I dumped him, I knew I was done dealing with jerks like that for the rest of my life. Its nice to be able to spend time with a guy and be so at ease around him. I feel like I can be myself around you, and its okay..."

Cody smiled. "Same here..." He laughed. "Besides Addison, you are the only one I can be myself with. With everyone else, I have to put on an act..."

Bailey laughed too. "Well, you just fooled Coach Morris and the basketball team. I say you're doing pretty well with that. How about we get back to me showing you around Seattle?"

"I'd love that. Are we near a subway station?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Sorry, we don't really have much of a subway around here. We're taking the bus..."

So, they made their way to the bus stop and caught a bus to downtown Seattle. Bailey showed Cody around everywhere and even took him to the Space Needle. And as they continued walking around and seeing everything, they continued to talk and get to know each other even better. After checking out a few museums, Bailey thought of the perfect place to for them to go. And fifteen minutes, they arrived at the Pacific Science Center, a hands on museum with a planetarium and multiple IMAX theaters. As they walked around, Cody was amazed.

"This place is great! I bet you come here all the time."

"Well, this is one of my favorite places here in Seattle. I love it here. But usually, I come here by myself. I've brought my parents or one of my sisters or Addie here once or twice, but that's usually enough for them..."

Cody just looked around. "I know what you mean. I'd come here at least once a week if I could."

Bailey smiled at him. "Yeah, this place is great, but look at everything you have in Boston. You have both MIT and Harvard both right there plus look at all of the historical sights you have. Boston Harbor, Lexington & Concord, Bunker Hill...I'd love to see all of those places."

He smiled back. "I'd like to return the favor and show them to you sometime. You're right. It would be a lot more fun seeing those places with someone who appreciated them as much as I did."

"I'm going to hold you to that..."

"I hope you do..." He paused and checked his watch. "You know, its actually getting late. My Dad will be in the studio again tonight, so I'll probably end up making dinner again. Would you care to join Addison and I? It would be the least I could do to thank you for today..."

"I'd love to. Addie told me how good what you made last night was."

Cody grinned. "Upping the pressure on me, huh? In that case, I need to stop by the store so I can make something special."

Later than evening, Cody, Bailey and Addison were sitting around the kitchen table after having finished the dinner Cody had made. All three were full and relaxing in their seats. Addison sighed in contentment.

"Okay...I could certainly get used to eating like this..."

Bailey laughed. "So could I. Cody, your cooking is almost as good as my Grammy Pickett's."

He smiled. "Thank you. But the real praise should go to Chef Paulo. He's the one who taught me everything I know."

Addison spoke up again. "So, with you not having to be back to school until Friday, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

Cody paused. "I think I'm going to snoop around Dad's room to see what I can find out. I wonder if he does still love my Mom."

"Well, I'll be here, so I can help if you need it."

Bailey spoke up too. "So will I." She checked her watch. "Unfortunately, I have to be getting home now. I have to help one of my younger sisters with something."

Cody smiled. "Well, if you allow me, I'll walk you home."

Bailey smiled back and accepted as Addison just watched the two of them head out. Thirty minutes later, Cody returned back to the house and began cleaning up from dinner. When he put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher, he turned and saw Addison just grinning at him.

"That certainly took you long enough..."

"Well, I had to scrub some of the pots."

"No...I mean walking Bailey home. It only takes five minutes to walk there. Seems to me there are twenty extra minutes unaccounted for..."

Cody just looked at her. "Oh...ummm..."

Addison laughed. "Its okay, Cody. You can admit you have a major thing for her. Anyone who sees you two together can see that."

_Boston, Massachusetts_

After getting off the phone with Maya, Zack hit up the shower and actually used deodorant when he was done. Like Cody had done earlier, he returned to Cody's closet and sighed once again at his choices of attire. And like Cody had, he settled in on a polo shirt and cargo shorts. Once he was dressed, he came back out into the suite, and Carey just smiled at him again.

"You look nice. You must be really trying to impress this girl. I really need to meet her now."

Zack shook his head and laughed. "We'll see how it goes."

"By the way, Mr. Moseby stopped by again while you were in the shower. He asked if you could make your specialty for his Mom's birthday. He even left some money for you to go get all the necessary ingredients for it."

He swallowed and let out a small laugh. "Sure. No problem."

"Well, do you want me to fix you some lunch before you head out?"

Zack paused again and remembered Cody telling him about his Mom's cooking. "You know...I'll just grab something on the way over to Maya's place. Besides, we'll probably get popcorn at the movie. I don't want to be too full before I get there."

"Something strange is going on here..."Carey just looked at him and shook her head. "I see what's happening here..."

Zack just looked at her nervously. "You do?"

"Of course." She smiled. "You're nervous about your first real date since you broke up with Barbara..."

He sighed in relief. "You got me..."

"You'll do fine, Honey. Just be yourself..."

Zack mumbled under his breath. "Easier said than done..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Just trying to get myself psyched up."

Soon after, Zack headed out of the hotel, but once he stood outside the front door, it suddenly dawned on him that while he had Maya's address, he had no idea where that was exactly. He slapped his forehead. When he was getting show times and directions to the nearest theater, it hadn't dawned on him to look up where Maya's place was. He sighed. He couldn't go back into the hotel and ask someone for directions. So, instead, he walked down the street to a local convenience store called the Paul Revere Minute Mart. He found some guy in there working who had a name tag saying his name was Wayne. So, Zack walked up to him and asked him for directions.

Wayne gave him the directions and then paused. "Don't I know you?"

Zack shook his head. "I don't think so..."

"I could have sworn you dropped off an application to work here earlier this summer..."

Zack laughed and figured why not be honest. "Well, my brother may have, but I didn't...Sorry."

Wayne shrugged. "That was probably it..."

Zack headed out of the convenience store to head off towards Maya's place. But someone had been looking at something along the back wall walked to the front and watched Zack leave from the window.

"My, my...this is getting really interesting now..."

Fortunately for Zack, Wayne's directions were pretty good and he found Maya's apartment relative easily. And from what he could tell, she lived on the other side of the park from the hotel. Once again, he mentally kicked himself for not looking it up. But, he was buzzed in and made his way up to Maya's family's apartment. And when she opened the door, Zack couldn't catch himself from whistling.

She smiled. "Thanks. Not looking too bad yourself."

Zack smiled back. "Thank you too..." And she did look amazing. As hot as she looked in a tshirt and basketball shorts, seeing her in a sundress almost blew his mind. "I think everyone else is going to be jealous of me when they see me getting to walk in with you..."

Maya laughed. "I don't know about all of that."

They continued on to the movie, and both had a good time. Zack ordinarily wasn't bothered by scary movies, but this one caused him to get a little jumpy. But when Maya buried her face into his shoulder at the really scary parts, he wasn't minding it one bit. In fact, he spent so much time looking down at her and enjoying how good she smelled, he really didn't remember much of the film. After the movie, they walked around for a while just talking about anything and everything. And for the first time in his life, Zack wasn't minding doing that one bit. Before, he would ignore a girl when she talked to him, and more than a few times, that had gotten him into trouble. But he was admitting to himself that there was something different about Maya. As the afternoon progressed, he walked her back to her family's apartment so she could change to play basketball later. The plan was for him to head back to the hotel, and she would meet him there. By the time she changed and walked over, he should be done changing as well.

Playing basketball that night went about the same as the night before with Maya and Zack being on the same team all night. And Theo kept getting angrier and angrier that 'Cody' kept beating him. Even worse, he was tired of 'Cody' making him look bad. So Theo tried again with the hard fouls, but Zack saw them coming. In particular, Theo bit on one of Zack's shot fakes, and Zack ducked. Theo proceeded to go flying and landed in some gravel. When he got up, he was scraped up, but more importantly, he had knocked out one of his front teeth.

"I'll get you for this, Martin!"

Zack was about to say something when Maya spoke up first. "For what? You're the one who tried to lunge at him and missed..." She knelt down and glared at him. "And if you do try to do something, everyone will know it was you. Do you really want to be known around school as the world's worst sore loser?"

Theo glared back at her. "Maya, he's not one of us! He's a nerd! A geek!"

She shrugged. "So? At least Cody is comfortable with who he is and isn't trying to be something that he's not..."

Hearing that hit close to home to Zack. All of a sudden, he felt really guilty about lying to her about who he really was. But he was torn. If he told her, odds are she would get really upset and his entire plan could go up in smoke. But for some reason, lying to her made him feel terrible. Once the last game was over, he decided he had to be honest.

"Maya...can I talk to you about something?"

She smiled. "Of course."

Zack paused. "How about we walk over to the hotel and get some ice cream first?"

"Sounds good to me."

The headed back to the hotel and to the ice cream counter and both got a double scoop. They sat down outside on a bench, and Zack built up his courage to say what he needed to say.

"You wanted to talk to me about something?"

Zack looked up at her. "Yeah...there is. You see, Maya..."

__To be Continued...__


	11. Forced Confessions

_Chapter 11_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

_Seattle, Washington_

Cody just looked at Addison in surprise. Was it really that obvious that he had become completely smitten with Bailey? Sure, he hadn't tried to hide it all that hard, but the fact that Addison had picked up on it so quickly was kind of disheartening. He just hung his head and sighed.

"I guess I could have done a better job hiding it, huh?"

She smiled at him. "Probably. But there's no shame in the fact that you are. I mean...Bailey's great. I may be biased, but I really think she is a special person."

He smiled back and nodded. "Oh...I definitely agree with you there. I've never met anyone like her before in my life. I can't explain it, but I feel so comfortable and can just be myself with her." He paused. "And the fact that she is drop dead gorgeous is just icing on the cake..."

"Nothing wrong with that at all. So, the question is...when are you going to tell her and ask her out?"

Cody shook his head sadly. "I can't do that. One, we get along so great right now, and I wouldn't want to ruin that. Two, even if she would go out with me, I still couldn't do it. It wouldn't be fair to her. Eventually, I will have to go back to Boston..."

Addison just looked at him and shook her head. "I guess all guys really are idiots. And here I thought you were one of the smart ones!" With that, she just turned and stormed away. Cody just stood there watching her leave with a look of confusion on her face.

"Huh?"

The next morning, Cody was up bright and early again. But since he didn't have to head in to the school today, he took his time getting cleaned up and getting ready. By ten o'clock, he and Addison were hanging out in the kitchen watching their Dads running around getting ready to head out. But Addison was still being cold and distant to Cody, and he still had no idea why. Cody shook his head and turned his focus back onto his Dad. And on his way out the door, Kurt stopped and turned to Cody.

"Are you skipping school today?"

Cody shook his head. "Not at all. I finished all of the work I have to do except for taking the tests on Friday. Coach Morris told me I didn't have to come back in until then."

Kurt just looked at him again. "You already have the work done?" He shook his head and laughed. "We really should have sent you to Texas a lot sooner. Oh well...will you two be okay here by yourselves?"

Addison smiled. "We'll be fine, Uncle Kurt. I'll keep Zack out of trouble."

Kurt smiled back. "Addie, I don't know what we'd do without you around here. Alright, see you two later."

Once their Dad's were gone, Cody turned to Addison. "How about I fix us some breakfast?"

But she kept ignoring him and went back to burying her nose in the magazine that she had been reading. Cody just shrugged and got up to fix it anyways. And when he was done, he prepared three plates and sat them around the kitchen table. At that moment, as if right on time, there was a knock on the back door. Cody answered it to find Bailey standing there, and welcomed her inside with a smile.

"Just in time. I just put breakfast on the table."

She smiled back at him. "Thank you. After last night, I'll never turn down any of your cooking ever again."

She sat down and said hello to Addison who said hello back to Bailey. Cody headed to the fridge to get out some juice and turned to the ladies. "Would either of you like a glass of juice?"

Bailey nodded. "Yes, please."

He turned to Addison. "Addison? How about you?" But she continued to ignore him. Cody just shook his head and poured her a glass anyways. By this time, Bailey was getting confused.

"Is everything okay here? Did you two have a disagreement?"

Cody brought the glasses over and sat them down. "I have no idea. She hasn't said a word to me all morning and has ignored me whenever I ask her anything..."

Bailey turned to Addison. "Addie? What's going on?"

She sighed. "I'll start talking to him once he stops being an idiot!"

Bailey turned back to Cody. "Am I missing something here?"

He sighed. "We had a discussion last night about something, and she told me I was being stupid..."

"What about?"

Cody paused again trying to figure out how to avoid telling Bailey what they were really talking about. "Oh...ummm...well...we we're talking about..."

Addison finally spoke up. "You want to know what we were talking about? I'll tell you. I was asking him when he was finally going to ask you out on a real date. But he had some kind of lame excuse about it not being fair to you because he would eventually have to go back to Boston. I couldn't believe how lame of an excuse that was!"

Both of Bailey's and Cody's mouths fell open in shock at Addison's outburst. And they both looked at each other, but neither one of them knew what to say with the cat now out of the bag.

Addison just shook her head. "Oh please. You both are ga ga for each other but refuse to tell each other about how you feel!" She stood up and smiled. "I need to go clean Sprinkles' litter box. You two can talk while I do that..." And with that, she walked away.

Again Cody and Bailey just looked at each other. Finally, Cody found his voice and eeked out. "Is that true?"

Bailey sighed and just nodded. "Yeah..." She paused. "Is it true for you too?"

Cody nodded too. "Yeah, it is. Bailey, I've never met anyone like you before. I like spending time with you, and I've had more fun with you the past couple of days than I can ever remember having..."

She smiled. "Same here. It just seems like you actually get me."

He smiled back. "Right back at you." He paused. "But what I told Addison is true. Eventually, I will have to go back to Boston..."

Bailey nodded. "I know. That thought had crossed my mind too. How about we worry about then when the time actually comes?"

He smiled again. "I can do that. I guess the next step would be for me to actually ask you if you would go out with me, huh? So, would you do me the honor?"

She grinned. "I'd love to..."

"Good. I'm supposed to hang out with my Dad on Friday night, but how does Saturday night sound?"

"Sounds perfect. Do you like foreign films?"

He laughed. "I love them." He paused. "As long as there are no subtitles..."

She laughed. "Of course...And I've seen this place that serves Moroccan food. So far, I haven't had anyone else willing to try it with me..."

"Now that sounds perfect to me..."

At that moment, Addison returned to the kitchen and sat down with them again. She just smiled at them.

"Good. I'm glad you two finally got that settled. I swear...you both are extremely stubborn and hardheaded. Now, we need to finish breakfast and begin our search..."

Cody just laughed. "Zack told me you were tough...you have me convinced." He paused and smiled. "Thank you, Addie..."

She smiled back. "Well, someone has to keep my two brothers in line..."

After breakfast, the three of them made their way into Kurt's room and began looking around. They weren't quite sure what they were looking for, but they weren't going to leave any stone unturned. A couple of hours later, they hadn't found anything of any significance and were beginning to get a little frustrated. They took a break to regroup when Bailey noticed something. She walked over to a picture on the wall that was slightly crooked and removed it. And to all three of their surprises, there was a wall safe behind it. Bailey examined it and saw that it require a four digit code, and she turned back to Cody and Addison.

"Any idea what the combination could be?"

Cody shrugged. "No clue." He turned to Addison. "You?"

She shook her head. "It could be anything..."

Bailey turned to look at it again, and an idea came to her.

"Cody...what's your birthday?"

"March 4, 1993"

Bailey turned to the safe and punched in '3-4-9-3', and when she pulled on the handle, it opened.

_Boston, Massachusetts_

Zack and Maya were still sitting on the bench, and he was still building up the courage to tell her the truth. He hoped she wouldn't be too mad and would understand why he and Cody had pulled their little switcharoo. And if he had to, he would tell her that he was feeling something that he had never felt before with her.

"You see, Maya...the thing is..."

But before he could say anything further, they both heard someone say "Oops..." Both turned to see where that came from, and both saw Carey Martin standing there.

Carey flinched. "Sorry, Cody...Esteban told me he saw you come out here. But I didn't know you were out here with someone."

Zack sighed, partially in relief, partially in frustration. "Its okay. Mom, this is Maya. Maya, this is my Mom, Carey Martin."

Maya smiled at Carey. "Its nice to meet you, Ms. Martin."

Carey smiled back. "Nice to meet you too, Maya. Cody told me a lot about you this morning, so its good to put a face to a name."

Maya laughed. "Oh, I know how that is. When I told my Dad that I was going to see a movie today with Cody, he told me he eventually wants to meet Cody too..."

Zack looked at her in surprise. He had never met a girl's father before. Well, there was the daughter of the president of the University of Washington, but that had not ended well. Suffice to say, Zack knew he would never be enrolling there for college as long as he was still the president.

Carey smiled. "Well, I'll give you too some privacy. Sorry to have interrupted."

Maya checked her watch. "Actually, I have to be home in ten minutes, so I should be heading out anyways." She turned to Zack. "Call me tomorrow?"

He smiled back at her. "Count on it."

Maya smiled back at him before she got up to head home. Zack watched her walk away until he heard Carey clear her throat.

"Sorry about that, Cody...I really didn't mean to barge in on the two of you...especially since you were just talking. I remember when my Mom would do that with some of my old boyfriends..."

Zack shook his head. This was another thing Cody had warned him about. If their Mom got started on one of her stories about her old boyfriends, he had to do anything to nip it in the bud.

"Its okay, Mom. I'll just talk to her tomorrow." He faked a yawn. "I think I'm going to call it a night anyways."

The next morning, Zack actually got up earlier than he did the day before. Sure...it was 10 AM, but waking up a full hour earlier was a big step for him. After grabbing breakfast, he gave Maya a call hoping they could meet up later and finish their talk from the night before, but all he got was her voice mail. Shrugging, he just hung around the suite waiting for her to call back. Finally, Carey headed out to rehearsal. About four o'clock that afternoon, there was a knock at the door. Hoping it was Maya, Zack got up to answer it and was visibly disappointed to see that it was only Woody.

"Oh...hey Woodchuck..."

Woody smirked. "Nice to see you again too..."

Zack sighed. "I was hoping you were Maya. No offense, but she's a lot cuter and smells much better..."

Woody paused and shrugged. "No offense taken. So, how did it go yesterday?"

Zack grinned. "It was better than I could have ever imagined..."

"Good. Did you ask her if she had a friend for me?"

"Sorry, Woodman..." Zack laughed. "That thought never crossed my mind..."

"Hurtful!"

"Settle down. I have to talk to her about something else soon, and if all goes well with that, I'll ask her."

Woody paused. "Well...I guess that would be okay. Oh, by the way...I read in the paper that Ferran Adria is going to be in town on Friday signing his new book. Are you going to go try to talk to him and get his new book autographed?"

Zack was still thinking about Maya and looked at Woody in confusion. "Why would I do that? I've never heard of him before..."

Woody just looked at him funny. "You're telling me you don't know who Ferran Adria is?"

"Not a clue."

"You're being serious?"

Zack nodded. "Of course I am." Zack laughed. "Should I know who he is?"

Woody got up and headed over to the kitchen and and came back over holding a cookbook. "Yes, you should definitely know who he is..." He opened the front cover, and Zack read the dedication.

"_To one of my biggest fans, keep cooking, Cody! Ferran Adria"_

Zack swallowed and looked up at Woody. "Oh...ummm..."

Woody just glared at him. "I knew it!"

Zack shot up off the couch. "Look...I can explain!"

"I always knew the aliens were snatching up people and replacing them with pod people! Now, I have proof!"

Zack sighed. "I'm not an alien or a pod person..."

Woody stepped back. "Then what are you then? An evil clone?"

"My name is Zack Martin. I'm Cody's twin brother."

Woody backed up even further. "That's impossible! Cody doesn't have a twin brother!"

Zack rolled his eyes. "Yes, he does..." Zack proceeded to tell Woody about him and Cody meeting at Texas and their plan to switch places for a while.

"I don't believe you!"

Zack sighed. "Fine...you don't believe me?" He pulled out his cell phone. "You can talk to Cody yourself and he'll tell you the truth..."

__To be Continued...__


	12. The New Plan

_Chapter 12_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

_Seattle, Washington_

With the door to the safe now open, Addison, Bailey and Cody took a long look inside of it. They found a bundle of letters, a photo album and two cassette tapes inside. Looking at the letters, the quickly figured out that they were love letters. The three of them sat down on Kurt's bed with Cody in the middle flanked by Bailey and Addison on each side of him. And they began reading the letters. Quickly, they discovered that not only were they love letters to his Dad from his Mom, but a couple of rough drafts of letters Kurt had began but had never sent.

Addison's eyes went wide. "Look at these. There are a few of them dated from the past ten years!"

Cody nodded as he read what his father had begun to write. "Yeah. From the looks of it, he tried writing a letter to her every year but never finished or sent them. And it looks like from the past couple of ones that he knew we were now in Boston. But what's important is what he says. In every single one of them, he keeps tell her how much he misses her and still loves her..."

Bailey smiled at him. "I think these pretty much answer the questions you had, huh?"

He nodded again. "Yeah. I guess so. It seems my Dad is still very much in love with my Mom..." He smiled and let out a little laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"That kind of answers one of the questions I always had. I had wondered since my Dad was never in my life if I had been a mistake or an accident. But by reading these, I know I was conceived out of love..."

"It sure seems that way..."

By then Addison had picked up the photo album and had began flipping through it.

"Hey guys...take a look at this!"

She handed it to Cody, and all three of them began looking at all of the pictures. There were pictures of Kurt and Carey from when they were dating, from their wedding, and of them, Zack and Cody as a young family. And seeing all of these brought a big smile to Cody's face. Seeing the four of them together as a family made him wonder if it was too late for them to be that happy family once again. Bailey was smiling too, but she was smiling at the fact that even as a baby, Cody had been just that adorable. Eventually, Cody had to let out another laugh.

"I just realized I've just seen more pictures of me as a baby in the past couple of days than I have in my entire life..."

Bailey frowned. "You hadn't see many of your baby photos before?"

He shook his head. "Just a handful, but that actually makes sense now. With Zack and I being twins, odds are there weren't many pictures of us taken individually."

She nodded. "Good point."

Addison turned to them. "How about we go see what's on these two video tapes?"

Cody nodded. "Good idea..." He paused. "Do you all even have a VCR around here? With DVD players being the newest technology, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't..."

Addison paused to think. "Actually, now that I think about it, I think there is one in the home theater..."

He just looked at her. "Home theater?"

Addison laughed. "Of course. Its down in the basement. What else did you think they would put down there...a wine cellar?"

The three of them headed down to the basement and put the first tape into the VCR. And to their surprise, it was footage of Kurt and Carey's wedding. And the ceremony and reception were equally touching and unintentionally hilarious.

Addison couldn't help but laugh. "Look at my Dad's hair! What was he thinking?"

Cody laughed too. "Hey...at least it doesn't look like he had a permed mullet and a goatee like mine did. And don't get me started on my Mom's hair. What was she thinking with those bangs?"

Bailey had to hold back from laughing too. "Well, your Mom is a very beautiful woman. And I can see where you get your blond hair now."

Cody smiled at her. "Yeah, she is...but nowadays, she's a redhead."

They continued watching the video, but the thing that stood out to Cody was the look on his parents' faces. He may only be fifteen, but he recognized the looks of two people who were deeply in love. If they were so in love then, why couldn't it be possible that they still were? Why wouldn't it be possible for them to get back together? And if they did, there would definitely be some major perks to it. As Cody sat there thinking, Bailey could almost see the gears in his mind working.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

He turned to her and smiled. "Not sure yet. Give me a little bit longer to understand them myself before I talk about them?"

She smiled back at him. "Of course."

Once that tape ended, Addison switched out tapes and they began watching the second one. And this one turned out to be footage of the day Kurt and Carey had brought Zack and Cody home from the hospital. Bailey and Addison both laughed as Cody hung his head in shame as there was detailed footage of Kurt trying to change Cody's diaper. Of course, even he had to laugh when it was Zack's turn to be changed and he went for target practice. When they were done watching it, Addison said she would go put everything back in the safe. That left Cody and Bailey alone in the home theater.

"Getting any closer to understanding your thoughts?"

He turned to her and smiled again. "Yeah, I think so. After seeing all of that, its obvious to me that my Dad still loves my Mom. And based on her behavior for as long as I can remember, I think she still loves him too. I'm thinking it may be possible for me to have my family to get back together."

She nodded. "How would you feel about that?"

He laughed. "That, I'm not sure. I mean it would be nice to have both of my parents around full time. A teenage boy should probably have his Dad in his life, don't you think?"

"I would say so."

Cody teased her. "I mean...who else is going to help me understand girls?"

Bailey laughed and playfully slapped his shoulder. "I'm not sure I like the idea of that..."

He got serious. "I can think of a consequence that I hope you would like though..."

"What's that?"

"Well, if my family got back together, we'd have to live somewhere. And from what I can see, we started off in Seattle. It could mean my Mom and I moving back out here..."

She smiled at him. "If that happened, I think I could learn to deal with it..."

He smiled back. "Me too..."

"I guess it wouldn't be such a bad thing if you were around permanently..."

"I sure hope not..."

She leaned in closer to him. "After all, I would have someone to go with me to the Pacific Science Center often..."

He leaned in closer to her. "Definitely..."

She leaned in even closer and looked into his eyes. "And it would be nice to have some around I could study with and do homework with and other things with..."

He leaned in even closer, looked into her eyes too and whispered. "What kind of other things?"

She whispered back. "Things like this..." Both leaned in and were millimeters away from kissing when a noise shattered the silence in the room. Cody groaned when he realized it was his cell phone ringing.

"I am so sorry..."

Bailey grinned. "Find out who it is and get rid of them..."

Cody grinned back. "Consider it done!" He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and seeing the display, he saw it was Zack calling. He opened his phone.

"Zack...this better be good!"

_Boston, Massachusetts_

Woody was still backing away from Zack as part of him still thought he might be an alien. But calmly, Zack pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He found Cody's number, hit dial and hit the speaker phone button. After a few rings, Cody finally answered.

"_Zack...this better be good!"_

Zack rolled his eyes. "Oh, I think it is. My situation here is a little more important that whatever you're doing right now..."

"_I seriously doubt that!"_

Zack couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard someone giggle in the background. But he had other things to worry about right then and there. "Look. You're boy Woody caught me not knowing who some guy named Deron or Feran or something like that..."

"_You mean Ferran Adria. He's the head chef at El Bulli. So, what happened?"_

Zack sighed. "I don't even want to know how you know that. Point is...he caught me, so I had to explain what happened and that I was your twin brother."

"_Is he there right now?"_

"Yeah, he's here, but he thinks I might be an alien..."

_Cody laughed. "That doesn't surprise me. Woody? Can you hear me?"_

Woody nodded. "I can hear you...whoever you are! Are you from the mothership?"

"_Woodchuck, its me Cody. What Zack just told you is the truth. He is my twin brother. I just learned it myself about ten days ago..."_

Woody wasn't completely sold yet. "How do I know you aren't just trying to get me lower my guard before you send your minion here to suck out my brains?"

Zack just glared at Woody. "Why would I be his minion?"

_Cody ignored him and answered. "Because its really me, Buddy. Ask me anything that only the two of us would know?"_

Woody paused to think. "Why did my Mom ground me last year and what was my punishment?"

"_That's an easy one. She grounded you because you refused to give your step-dad Steve a father's day card. And she grounded you by throwing away your favorite pair of underwear...though, in retrospect, I'm glad you did. You really did need to look into having more than one pair."_

Woody just stared at the phone. "Oh my gosh! You really are Cody!"

"_That's what I've been trying to tell you, Woody. Look, Zack and I are each trying to get to know the other parent that we never knew. Can you help us out with this? Can you keep what you just learned to yourself and not tell anyone...especially my Mom?"_

"I guess so..."

"_I appreciate that, Buddy. And can you keep an eye on Zack and make sure he doesn't do anything that I wouldn't do?"_

Woody paused and looked at Zack. "Well..."

Zack whispered at him. "Tell him anything and you can say goodbye to getting a date with one of Maya's friends!"

"Hurtful!"

"_What was that Woody?"_

Woody sighed. "Nothing...Cody, you owe be big time for this..."

"_I know. And I'll find someway to make it up to you, I promise."_

"So, how are things going in Seattle?"

"_Things are going great here. I'm having a blast. Tell you what. To make it up to you, I'll bake one of my specialties for you..."_

Zack interrupted Woody. "Speaking of which...That Mr. Moseby guy wants 'Cody' to make one of those for his mother's birthday. He's supposed to pick it up on Saturday morning. Can you make one and Fed Ex it out to me?"

"_No can do. It would never survive being shipped without collapsing. You'll have to make one yourself."_

Zack rolled his eyes. "In case you didn't know, I don't bake!"

_Cody sighed. "Alright...we'll I'll send you a copy of all the ingredients you'll need. And before you even think about it, you CAN'T skimp on any of the ingredients. I'll get them here too and we can use webcams so I can take you through it step by step."_

Zack nodded. "Alright. We'll do it Friday night then while Mom is performing."

"_No can do on that either. Dad's taking me to a Mariners game that night. He's been in the studio since I've been here, and this my chance to really get to know him."_

"Okay...we'll do it Friday morning then."

"_No can do then either. I have to take two tests for your summer school, remember? I should be done by early afternoon here which would be late afternoon there. That's the only time I have to do it."_

Zack sighed. "Fine. I'll be here."

"_By the way...While I have you on the phone, there is something else we need to talk about. We found Dad's secret stash here earlier. There were love letters from both Mom and Dad, a picture album and two videos..."_

Zack frowned. "Where did you find those?"

"_In Dad's wall safe..."_

"I didn't know he had a wall safe..."

"_Right now, that doesn't matter. What does matter is that I'm almost positive that Dad is still in love with Mom. And I think she still is in love with him too. Instead of switching to try to get even with them, maybe we were supposed to meet so we would bring them back together?"_

Zack paused. "I don't know."

"_Maybe its time we revealed to them who we really are? If so, we might get our family back together..." Cody paused. "And no offense, Woody...but, I don't think I would mind moving to Seattle right now..."_

Zack stopped to think again. While the plan seemed alright, Zack still had something to do before they could be one big happy family in Seattle.

"Cody, I think Mom is coming back in, I have to go!" Quickly, Zack hung up the phone.

Woody just looked at him funny. "What are you talking about? Your Mom is still down at rehearsal. I didn't hear anything..."

Zack sighed. "I just needed time to think."

"You don't want your family back together?"

"Oh, I do...But I want some more time with Maya first..."

__To be Continued...__


	13. Slow Down or Speed Up

_Chapter 13_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

_Boston, Massachusetts_

Zack paced back and forth. He completely understood where Cody was coming from, but his timing was lousy. Zack needed some more time with Maya to tell her the truth. After that, he could try to figure out some way to make all of this work out somehow. But to do that, he needed time to think. Add that to the fact that Maya hadn't returned his call yet that day, and he had a lot of thoughts swirling around his mind. Of course, he couldn't ignore the fact that Woody was still looking at him funny.

He sighed. "What?"

Woody shrugged. "I don't know. It was dawning on me that I should have figured this out sooner. I mean, you were cutting farts with me, and Cody has never done that before. That should have been my first clue. And then watching you play basketball and play it well should have sent off warning sirens. I should have known you weren't Cody then. I mean...the only way he knows how to shoot a basketball is granny style..."

Zack shook his head. "Okay, okay...I could have been a little bit more subtle. I saw Maya and tried to impress her a little bit..."

"Maya...lets talk about her now. She thinks she went out with Cody yesterday. She's going to be awfully upset to find out that she didn't..."

Zack sighed again. "I know, I know...I'm hoping she'll understand why I've done what I've done..."

"Are you ever planning on telling her?"

"I was going to last night. I was about to let it all out when Mom showed up. Maya had to be leave to get home then, and I couldn't. And I was going to do it today, but she hasn't returned my phone call yet." He shook his head. "I never expected to meet anyone like her while I was here..."

Woody paused and just looked at him. "You really like her, don't you?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"Huh...Wonder if Cody has met anyone in Seattle like that?"

Zack laughed. "Doubtful...He's been busy doing my summer school for me. The only girl he's actually spent time around there is Addison, and that would just be weird..."

"Why would it be weird?"

"Because Addison looks at me like I'm her brother. Even though she knows its Cody, she'll still see me when she looks at him."

Woody paused. "Maybe I'd like her then?"

Zack laughed again. "Again, I doubt it. Anyway, we need to focus here."

"Hurtful!" Woody paused again. "Besides...who's to say that Cody hasn't met someone else? I mean...he is doing your school work for you. Which means he'll be at your school and around the girls you go to school with..."

Zack just looked at him. "That is true..." He shrugged. "Oh well, if he does, good for him." He paused to think of something and shuddered.

"What?"

"Cody can do what he wants, but there is one girl I hope he stays far away from...even though they are a lot a like." Zack shook his head. "Forget about. Never happen. She still thinks he's me and would never give him the time of day..."

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"I'm not sure. But on Friday afternoon, be ready to do some baking..."

Woody grinned. "Can I like the bowls clean like Cody lets me do?"

Zack shrugged. "Be my guest..."

"Awesome!"

Zack just laughed. "Woodchuck...you're a strange guy...but I like you."

At that moment, the door to the suite opened, and Carey walked back inside. When she saw the two boys, she smiled at them.

"Hey Woody. What are you two boys up to?"

"Nothing much, Mom...I thought you were at rehearsal?"

She shrugged. "I was, but the sound system in the cabaret started shooting sparks and all the microphones went haywire. Arwin's trying to fix it right now, but if he can't, my show is canceled tonight." She laughed. "I seriously doubt anyone would want to hear me anyway unless they like Alvin & the Chipmunks..."

Woody laughed. "I'd love to hear that! I love the Chipmunks!"

Carey just looked at him. "Of course you do, Woody...So, what are your plans for the evening?"

"Nothing definite, Mom. Still waiting to hear back from Maya."

"Well, I know you went to see a movie with her yesterday, but if you don't hear back from her, why don't the three of us go see a movie together. That movie _Doggie Come Home_ that you wanted to see is now out in the theaters."

Woody's eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh! That sounds awesome!"

Zack rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself. "Really Cody?"

"What did you say, Cody?"

Zack turned to his Mom. "Oh...I said Okie Dokie..."

About that time, there was another knock at the door. And as quickly as he could, Zack went over to answer it. To his relief, he opened it to find Maya standing there smiling at him. Zack couldn't help but to smile back when he saw her.

"Maya!"

"Hey, Cody...Sorry about not returning your phone call yet. I've kind of had a hectic day..."

"What happened?"

She laughed. "My little brother stuck a crayon up his nose, and I've spent the past several hours at the emergency room waiting for it to get removed. Anyways, they don't allow cell phones in the ER." She shook her head. "Can you imagine anyone sticking a crayon up their nose?"

Zack gave a nervous laugh. "Hey...it could happen to anyone. But the important thing is that he's okay now..."

"I guess so...Anyways, there's another reason I stopped by. There's something I need to tell you..."

"Something I need to tell you too..." He looked around and noticed his Mom and Woody were watching him.

Maya sighed. "It will have to wait. As we were leaving the hospital, we got a call from my Grandma. She fell and hurt her hip, and my Mom wants to send me to spend time with her and help her out. My flight leaves in a couple of hours. I just wanted to stop by and tell you everything in person and make sure you knew I wasn't blowing you off." She smiled. "I really do look forward to us hanging out again when I get back."

Zack wasn't sure what to say. "Yeah...me too."

She grinned at him. "So, you'll wait on me until I get back?"

He smiled back. "Yeah...I'll be here waiting."

"Good. I'll call you once I get there." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you soon, Cody..." And with that, Maya was gone again.

Zack closed the door and leaned against it. He had butterflies in his stomach from the kiss on the cheek, but then it dawned on him. He was going to have to stall Cody as much as possible to make sure he was still in Boston when she got back.

_Seattle, Washington_

Cody hung up his phone and just shook his head. Woody was his boy and all, but how in the world had Woody managed to bust Zack? Of everyone in Boston, he figured Woody and London would be the two easiest ones to fool. He shrugged. Oh well...at least Zack couldn't hold it over his head that Cody had been busted and he hadn't any longer. But his mind suddenly remembered he was about to do something before the phone rang. He turned to Bailey and smiled.

"Sorry about that..."

She smiled back. "Don't worry about it. Your friend Woody seems...interesting."

Cody laughed. "That he is...but he's a good friend." He paused. "If I did end up moving to Seattle, I'd really miss him. I'd miss a lot of things about Boston." He looked back up at Bailey. "But I think it would definitely be a move I was willing to make..."

"Good...Besides, I think we were about to do something before your phone rang..."

"You just read my mind..."

Both began leaning in towards each other again when they heard someone laugh.

"Wow...What am I interrupting here?" Both looked up to see Addison standing there.

"Well, nothing now!" Cody sighed and shook his head. "I'm starting to think that having siblings is vastly overrated..."

Bailey laughed. "I've had that same feeling at times..." She looked up at Addison. "Nice timing, Addie...thanks."

Addison just grinned. "Anytime. Everything is back in the safe now. So, what else did I miss?"

"Zack called. Seems my buddy Woody figured out he wasn't really me, and I had to help talk Woody down."

"Will he cause any problems?"

Cody shook his head. "I don't think so. I was telling Zack about my thoughts about Mom and Dad, but Mom showed up and he had to hang up..."

Addison paused and smiled again. "Did you two happen to mention to him that you two are an item now?"

Cody and Bailey looked at each other. "Well, not exactly. I was planning on telling him, but he had to go so quickly..."

"Just let me know when you do..." Addison laughed. "...because I want to be there to see it!"

Cody paused and smiled. "I know just the time to do it. He has to bake a cake for someone's birthday on Friday afternoon, and I have to walk him through it via webcam." He turned to Bailey. "I'd be honored if you would be my sous chef..."

Bailey smiled back at him. "I would love to...but I can't. My Mom has to go for her appointment at the ophthalmologist that afternoon. I have to babysit my younger sisters then."

"Too bad..."

"I know. You just better make sure you save me a piece. If this is your specialty, I can't wait to try it." She looked over at Addison. "Which means I fully expect you not to eat it all and find you flying around her like a bumblebee..."

Addison rolled her eyes. "As if..."

Bailey just looked at her again, and Addison sighed. "Fine..."

Bailey turned back to Cody. "But while I can't be here Friday afternoon, we still have Saturday..."

He smiled. "I know...I can't wait."

"As for now, it looks like you have a plan. If I were you, I'd just worry about spending as much time with your Dad as possible before you have to tell him the truth."

Cody nodded. "Good idea..." He paused. "And at some point, I should study for Zack's two tests on Friday..."

Bailey just began laughing and Cody joined her.

The next couple of days were pretty much the same for Cody. During the morning and late evenings, he spent as much time with his Dad as he could. But between those times, he spent as much time with Addison and Bailey as possible. Addison was definitely great, and even after such a short period of time, Cody already found himself thinking of her like a sister. And Bailey? Every day, Cody found himself falling for her more and more. It seemed like he was constantly learning something new about her that he found completely endearing. And he wasn't the only one who felt that way. By Friday morning, Bailey refused to even consider the the thought of Cody having to move back to Boston.

Friday morning was test time. Beginning at 8:00 AM, Cody had four hours to finish both exams. As he looked through them, he noticed they were either problems or multiple choice. This was going to be way too easy. He flew through the world history test in about thirty minutes. He was about to set it aside when he remembered he was supposed to be Zack. So, he went back and intentionally changed some answers to ones he knew were incorrect. Next was the math test, and he flew through it as well. But this time, he made sure he did 'B' level work from the beginning. By ten thirty, he had finished them both and turned them both in.

When he was home by a quarter till eleven, Addison was surprised to see him, but Bailey wasn't. She actually grinned at him.

"Did you ace them?"

He grinned back. "Nope. I think I did solid 'B' level work. I will say though...it felt weird turning in a test where I knew I had intentionally put down wrong answers."

"I bet...I think that would drive me crazy..."

He laughed. "It just about did. So, what did you two do this morning?"

"Addison and I took the shopping you list you gave us and went to the store. After seeing what all was in it, I definitely can't wait to taste it now..." Bailey checked her watch. "Unfortunately, I have to be going now."

"I wish you could stay."

"Me too..." She smiled at him. "But just remember tomorrow. Now, you have fun cooking and have fun with your Dad tonight. And try not to root for the Red Sox too hard..."

He smiled back. "I can't make any promises there..."

"Just try..."

"Alright...I'll try...for you."

"Good." She paused and leaned in and kissed his cheek. When she pulled back, she smiled. "I'll talk to you later." And with that, Bailey headed out the back door.

Cody just stood there with a dopey grin on his face as he placed his hand up to his cheek. He knew he needed to speed up his plan even quicker now.

__To be Continued...__


	14. Seattle, We Have a Problem!

_Chapter 14_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so...

_Boston, Massachusetts_

That Friday morning, Zack went grocery shopping to get everything he would need. Remembering Cody's warning, he resisted the urge to skimp and buy cheaper ingredients. And having no clue what some of the items on the list were, he actually had to ask someone at the supermarket what plantains were. Once he realized they were just bananas, he just shook his head. Cody could have told him that instead of making him look like an idiot. Once he got back from the store, he got everything ready in the kitchen. About that time, Woody showed up to help him. Zack turned on the laptop's webcam, and there was Cody there waiting on him with Addison next to him.

"_Did you get everything on the list exactly?"_

Zack sighed. "Yes. I got everything exactly the way you listed it." He paused. "By the way, how did my tests go today?"

_Cody grinned. "You should get 'B's on both of them."_

"A 'B'! You couldn't have gotten me an 'A'?"

"_I could have, but that might have raised questions, don't you think?"_

Zack rolled his eyes. "Whatever. As long as I passed. Lets get this over with, alright?"

"_Fine. Remember...Do everything EXACTLY the same way that I do."_

For the next half of an hour, Zack followed Cody's instructions as best as he could. Finally, both twins put both of their cake pans in the oven to let them cook.

Zack sighed. "Finally...a time to catch my breath."

_Cody grinned. "Oh no. We have the icing to make now. A word of warning – don't let Woody near it until you've finished icing the cake."_

"Hurtful!"

But the next thing Woody knew, the petite girl next to Cody on the screen began laughing. And for the first time, Woody got a good look at her.

"Whoa..."

"_Now, lets get started on the icing."_

So, while the cakes baked, Cody instructed Zack on how to make the icing. And by the time was done on both ends, the cakes were read to come out of the oven. Cody then showed Zack how to make a double layer cake with icing each layer. And by the time they were done, Zack looked at the one Cody had made and the one he had made.

"Ehhh...close enough."

_Cody sighed. "Its...not terrible. It will due though." He paused. "Okay, now that that's done, we can finally talk about the plan I came up with. I think we should tell Mom and Dad what we did and..."_

"Mom's coming!" Zack closed the laptop quickly.

Woody just looked at him. "Why do you keep saying she's coming when she's not?"

"Because I need to stall time until Maya gets back and I can tell her the truth. I can't leave until I do that..."

Woody nodded. "Okay, I can understand that, but I don't know how much longer you can hold Cody off. Cody is persistent if anything."

"I know, I know...but I can't leave here without seeing Maya one more time."

Woody paused. "So, was that girl with Cody that Addison girl?"

Zack turned to look at him. "Yes, it was...but don't even think about it!"

"Dang it! She's really pretty."

"Now now, Woodchuck...why don't you go lick the bowls clean?"

Woody's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah!" And with that, Woody turned to the bowls and began going to town.

Zack just shook his head. He headed over to the couch to sit down when the phone in the suite rang. Not really paying attention, he answered it.

"Martin residence."

"_Cody, its Mr. Moseby down at the front desk. There's a young lady here at the front desk who says she would like to speak with you."_

Zack lit up. Could Maya be back from her trip to see her grandmother already? He wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to waste any more time wondering. As fast as he could, he ran out of the suite and to the elevator. He began pacing around willing the elevator to get there faster. And as he did, Woody joined him out in the hallway.

"What are you doing?"

"That Moseby guy said there was a girl downstairs wanting to see me. I'm hoping its Maya."

Woody shrugged. "I hope so. I need to be heading home anyways." He groaned. "Mom is making us have a family fun night with Steve..."

The elevator finally arrived, and both boys hopped into it. Zack kept pacing waiting for it to descend twenty-three floors. It finally arrived in the lobby, and Zack looked around everywhere for Maya. But he saw no sight of her anywhere. He was about to go looking for her when he felt himself being dragged behind one of the large plants in the lobby. He turned to Woody to find out why had just done that when he saw a look of terror on his face.

"What did you you do that for?"

"Because we need to hide! That's not Maya here to see you...its Agnes!"

Zack looked at him funny. "Who?"

"She's this girl who has been stalking you...I mean Cody...for three years. She's crazy!"

Zack rolled his eyes and turned around to walk back to the elevator when he found himself face to face with a girl with stringy hair and glasses.

"Codykins! There you are! I wanted to be here when you got back from Texas, but my family went on vacation this past week. Momma's back for you!"

Zack took a step back. He was getting the impression that Woody wasn't too far off when he said she was crazy.

"Look...Agnes...no offense, but I'm already kind of seeing someone else."

She frowned. "And just who is this Jezebel trying to steal my man?"

"Look, I'm not your man...never have been, never will be...but if you want a name, its..." He paused. He needed a name to give her to get her off of his back and so she wouldn't bother Maya. "Bailey...Bailey Pickett."

Agnes just looked at him. "Don't worry, Codykins. I'll deal with this Bailey Pickett in time. You'll see she is no better than that Barbara was. But you go ahead and sew your wild oats, but you'll be back. I guarantee it." Agnes just turned around and stormed away.

Woody finally joined Zack again. "Told you so..."

Zack just shook his head. "I think she needs a room with padded walls."

Woody laughed. "No argument here. She's so crazy, even I wouldn't go out with her..."

Zack sighed. He'd let Cody deal with her later. He had other things to worry about at the moment. He was really missing Maya and hoped she would get back before something else happened.

_Seattle, Washington_

After finishing cooking, Cody went to get cleaned up again for his night out with his Dad. And going back to Zack's closet, he found a Mariner's jersey hanging in there. Sucking it up, he put it on, but he felt so dirty doing so. He felt like he was betraying his beloved Red Sox but told himself he would make it up to the nation later. But he knew he was going to have to just grin and bear it for the time being. About five o'clock that afternoon, Kurt arrived back home and saw that Cody was ready to go to the game.

He grinned. "You ready to see the M's whip up on the..." He did his best Boston accent. "Red Sawx?"

Cody laughed. "We'll see. The Red Sox have a really good team this year, and the Mariners...well, not so much."

Kurt nodded. "I know. We should never have traded Griffey and the Big Unit or let ARod walk away..."

Cody had a look of disgust on his face. "Especially since he's a Yankee now!"

Kurt laughed. "Very true. Give me fifteen minutes to get cleaned up and changed, and we'll head out..." He paused when he saw the cake sitting on the kitchen counter. "What's up with the cake?"

Cody paused. "Oh...Addison made it. Its...ummm...Sprinkles' birthday."

"Ohh..." He paused. "She made a cake for her cat's birthday..." He shook his head. "I just hope she doesn't eat it all. We don't need to spend the rest of the night trying to settle her down."

Thirty minutes later, Kurt and Cody were off in Kurt's classic convertible and on their way to Safeco Field. And once they got into the stadium, Cody took the time to really look at it. He was so used to the quirks and quaintness of Fenway Park, and seeing a stadium that wasn't almost a hundred years old was kind of surreal. While the modern amenities seemed nice, he felt like there was something missing from the experience.

But Cody's biggest surprise was when he discovered where their seats were. Instead of being down by the field, they were in a luxury box.

"Nice, huh?"

Cody turned to his Dad. "Yeah. I was not expecting this..."

Kurt grinned. "This box belongs to my record label. We should be able to get seats like this anytime we want from now on."

Cody nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Kurt paused. "I guess this as good a time as any. Zack, what do you think of your childhood?"

Cody looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean, Dad?"

"I mean...do you think you had a good childhood?"

"Yeah...I guess so..."

Kurt sighed. "Because it dawned on me while you were gone to Texas that its just been us guys for so long. I mean...I'm worried about the effect its had on you and Addison growing up."

"We're fine, Dad."

"I know. You're both great kids. But I couldn't help but think that maybe it would be nice if you both had a female presence around the house..."

Cody smiled to himself. Maybe his Dad was going to make it easy on him. "Well, I guess that could be nice."

"I think so too. I think having a woman around would have a positive effect on all of us. Watching your interactions with girls, I cringe a little bit. I mean...you're a Martin, so the ladies are going to be attracted to you. But you have to be careful with the way you treat them, Zack. And I think not having a woman around when you were growing up contributed to that."

"I don't know about all of that, Dad. I like to think I treat girls right." Without thinking, he continued. "I mean, I get along great with Addison and Bailey..."

Kurt grinned. "Yeah, about that. What the heck is going on there? I thought there was a cold war brewing there, but since you've been back from Texas, its like you two agreed to start over or something..."

Cody paused. "Ummm...you could say we've reached an armistice so to speak..."

"An armistice?"

He laughed. "Sorry, Dad. Took my world history test today. Guess I still have in on the mind."

"That's right! How did you do?"

Cody grinned. "I believe I passed..."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, both tests were pretty easy once I studied."

Kurt shook his head. "Well, I'm glad to hear that." He laughed. "You know, for a little while there, I thought you were beginning to take after your Uncle Casey..."

That caught Cody's curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"You know...my little brother. The one who always had his nose in a book...of course, he's Dr. Martin now. But he always went for the brainy girls too."

Cody just smiled realizing that was probably where he got his personality from. "You know, I just think heading to Texas changed the way I look at things..."

"Good. Just think of all the good habits you'll pick up if we had a woman around the house full time..."

"I think you're right, Dad. I think that would be good for us..."

Kurt smiled. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that..."

At that moment, it was time to play ball. And being in the luxury suite, they had everything they could want right there with them. But like Cody had predicted, the Red Sox were just too much for the Mariners. And when Big Papi crushed a ball to dead center field, Cody couldn't help himself and jumped up and cheered.

Kurt frowned. "Zack? Did you just cheer for the Red Sox hitting a grand slam?"

Cody paused. "Oh...ummm...I thought the center fielder had jumped up and caught it..." He faked a sigh and sat down. "Dang it!"

Kurt just laughed. "Like I told you...that ain't Griffey out there anymore."

During the seventh inning stretch, Cody headed out to use the bathroom, but when he came back into the suite, he saw his Dad talking to a younger, blonde woman. And when Kurt saw him, he motioned Cody over.

"Zack, I'd like to introduce you to Meredith. She's the publicist the record company assigned to us in preparation for our comeback album. I've been working closely with her all summer. Meredith, this is my son, Zack. He's a regular chip off the old block."

Meredith just looked at Cody and smiled, but for some reason, Cody didn't think it was a genuine one. "So nice to meet you, Zack. Kurt has told me so much about you..."

"I would say the same thing, but this is the first I've heard of you..."

Momentarily, Meredith's smile disappeared before she plastered it back on. Cody wasn't sure, but she didn't look happy. But by then, Kurt spoke up again.

"Anyways, I was talking to Meredith, and we've decided that she's going to be the female presence we all need around the house..."

Cody paused. He was afraid of where this was going, so he needed to find a way to stall. "You've hired her a a part time cook and housekeeper?"

Kurt laughed. "No, not that...I was thinking of making her a part of the family..."

Cody swallowed. "Wow...Dad. I think that's amazing that you've agreed to adopt her. I'm sure Addie and I would love having a big sister..."

Kurt laughed again. "Zack...I'm not adopting Meredith. I asked her to marry me, and she said yes!"

__To be Continued...__

**AN: People on the West Coast can keep earthquakes. This afternoon, I felt the one that hit Virginia. I don't particularly care if I ever feel another one. I'd rather have a tornado personally...at least I can see it coming! Anyways, I guess I should address people who continue to read my stories and complain about my writing...why? To paraphrase the NCAA ad, I'm going pro in something beside fanfiction writing. So, odds are, I'm not really going to listen to people trying to tell me how to write...especially from an anonymous review. Besides, I have modified this story. You know...artistic choice.**__  
><em>_


	15. Everything Falls Apart

_Chapter 15_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so...

_Seattle, Washington_

Cody just stared at his Dad in disbelief. This was the last thing he wanted to hear right now. He had a plan in place that would reunite his family and let him get to spend more time with Bailey in the process. But his Dad's announcement was threatening to ruin all of it with one fail swoop. And to make matters worse, he was getting a real bad vibe from this Meredith lady. Briefly, he wondered if he would get a bad feeling about any lady who was trying to ruin his plan even if it was Mother Teresa. He shook his head. No, he was usually a pretty good judge of character. There was definitely something about her that he didn't like. Cody could feel his blood beginning to boil. He wasn't going to go down without a fight.

"Zack?"

Cody looked up and saw his Dad staring at him. "Are you alright?"

Cody began pacing back and forth. "Ego operor non teneo, Pater. Is est totus multus sumo in vox iam. Super , quam puteus operor vos vere teneo is mulier? Is can non exsisto ultum senior quam ego sum , vox? Have vos vere sententia is per?"

Kurt and Meredith just stared at Cody. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What did you just say?" Kurt was really confused now. "Was that Latin? Since when do you know Latin?"

Cody sighed. "I learned it in Texas. How can you possibly be getting married, Dad? Where did this come from?"

Kurt paused. "I...uhhh...well...I thought you would be happy for me, Zack..."

Cody just shook his head and lost it. "Well, I'm not. You just drop this nuclear bomb on me and expect me to be happy about it? Sorry, Dad. Not happening! I was expecting a night of just the two of us to spend some time together, but you had to go and ruin it!"

Kurt sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have done this here tonight. Zack, I'm sorry for ruining tonight for you. I should have told you at a different time and in a different way." He turned to Meredith. "And I apologize to you too. I completely blew this all the way around."

She smiled at him. "Its okay. You're heart was in the right place. Maybe we should just watch the rest of the game and then go somewhere afterwards to talk about this?"

Cody rolled his eyes. "I would rather not. Right now, I just want to go home." He shook his head. "Maybe I should just go back..." He paused. "...to Texas. At least things made sense there..."

Kurt stepped back. "Whoa! Hold up there, Zack! Maybe we should give this some time. I can see that I've upset you tonight more than I thought. Not my intention." He sighed. "Maybe we should just go home and sleep on this. Tomorrow, we'll all be thinking more clearly and we can all go out to dinner, discuss and get to know each other."

Cody glared at him. "I don't think so! I've already got plans tomorrow night..."

"This is the first I've heard of this..."

Cody smirked. "Well, maybe if you had been around more since I've gotten back instead of running around with...with...with her, maybe you would know about it. But I refuse to cancel plans I've been looking forward to for...for...for this..."

Kurt sighed and slumped his shoulders. "I see. You're right. I should have been home more often. Why don't we table this and talk again once everyone is thinking more clearly and had time to calm down?"

Meredith pulled him off to the side. "Table this? Are you really saying you might not marry me because of how he feels about it?"

"Zack's my son. He's my first priority."

She paused and collected herself. "Understood. Give me a little time for him to get to know me..."

"Alright, but I think he and I need to go home now. I need to give him time to cool off. I shouldn't have just sprung this on him like this."

Meredith sighed. "Fine."

Kurt and Cody headed back out to the car and headed home. The whole way home, there was no talking whatsoever. Every so often, Kurt would glance over at him but Cody was just staring straight a head, his mind a jumble of thoughts. When they got home, Cody immediately headed to his room and locked the door behind him. He just laid in bed as he thoughts continued bouncing all around his head. Finally, exhaustion overtook him, but he didn't sleep well at all. The next morning, he woke up and cleaned up as if on autopilot. But instead of sticking around the house, he headed outside and went down to the docks the stuck into Puget Sound. He just sat at the end of it and continued staring off into space. Cody wasn't even aware someone had sat down next to him until they spoke.

"Addison said I needed to get over here ASAP. What's up?"

Cody turned and saw Bailey sitting next to him. He sighed. "Its over. The entire plan I came up with was destroyed in less than thirty seconds..."

Bailey frown and was concerned seeing how distraught Cody looked. "I want you to tell me everything that happened. Don't leave out a single thing."

He nodded and told her the entire series of events from the night before. "And that's when I flipped out and started ranting and raving. I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it..."

She smiled at him. "Under the circumstances, I can understand..."

"I hate that everything I had planned is now completely shot..."

"Says who?"

Cody looked at her funny. "But..."

"I know what you told me. I know some may say I should stay out of this, but I'd like to think I have a vested interest in your plan working..."

He smiled at her. "I'm glad you do. Being able to stay around you was a big part of my plan for me too. But this is game over now."

She smiled back. "Again...says who? All you need now is to tweak your plan a little bit. I mean...look at what your Dad said. He said he thought it would be nice for everyone to have a woman around the house. Did he ever say he loved this Meredith woman?"

Cody paused. "Well...no."

"Exactly. Have you ever heard the expression...'if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with'?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, right now, you're Dad doesn't think he can be with the one he loves. We have to show him that he can..."

Cody paused again to consider that. "By showing him that its still possible for him to get back together with Mom?"

"Exactly!"

"But how do we pull that off. He's here in Seattle, and she's all the way across the country in Boston. I can't see her deciding on a whim to come out here and visit..."

Bailey smiled again. "Because it won't be a whim. She'll think she's coming back to switch you and Zack back again..."

Cody considered that. "But what happens if it doesn't work? I'd be on my way back to Boston and away from you..."

"Then we just make sure it works..."

He nodded. "Yeah..." He smiled. "If the odds of it were working were in direct proportion to how much I want it to work, then it would be a sure thing."

"Same here."

"Okay, I need to call Zack and tell him that he has to tell Mom the truth ASAP. We need to get the ball rolling..."

"Right. And then you're going to have to do your second best acting job of all time."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that until she gets out here, you're going to have to act like you're okay with your Dad marrying this Meredith lady."

He sighed. "Easier said than done. Like I told you, I get a real bad vibe from her. I almost think she's a gold digger after Dad's money."

Bailey smiled again. "I have another old saying for you...'you can attract more flies with honey than vinegar'..."

He nodded. "So, be nice to her to get her to lower her guard?"

"Right again. We'll just have to make her believe last night was an aberration." She teased him. "The result of too many hormones flooding through your system..."

Cody laughed. "Alright, for the better good, I can do that..."

"And if she slips up, you'll be there to bust her."

"Right." He paused. "Thank you, Bailey...For everything. I hope you know just how amazing you are."

She slightly blushed. "Thanks." She paused. "Okay, here is what we need to do..." She filled Cody in on her idea and looked at him to see his reaction.

He smiled. "Beauty and brains. You're a genius. Okay, we have a lot to do then, and not a lot of time to do it. I promised this beautiful girl a date night tonight. And I intend to keep my promise."

She smiled back at him. "And she intends to enjoy it. You better call Zack now. I'll handle the other phone call."

Cody nodded. "Right." He pulled out his cell phone and began dialing.

_Boston, Massachusetts_

Zack was still asleep and having the most pleasant dream. In it, he and Maya were on a date, and the night was magical. He had just walked her to her front door when she turned to look at him. She was about to kiss him goodnight when Zack felt himself getting shook. His eyes fluttered open and found his mother smiling back at him.

"Time to wake up, Sleepyhead."

Zack groaned and looked at the alarm clock. "But its only 10:30 on a Saturday morning."

Carey smiled. "I know, but I have to run to the grocery store. And someone needs to be here and awake when Mr. Moseby stops by to pick up the cake."

Zack sighed. "Fine..."

He crawled out of bed and towards the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, Carey was gone to the store and Zack was sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal. Even though he was eating breakfast, he was having trouble staying awake. Well, that was until his cell phone rang. Picking it up, he saw it was Maya calling and he immediately perked up. As quickly as he could, he answered it.

"Maya!"

"_Hey, Cody! I just wanted to call and talk to you for a little bit."_

"How's your grandmother doing?"

"_Much better now. Fortunately, she didn't break anything. She just had a big bruise, but its starting to get better. She's actually able to walk around with a cane now."_

"Does that mean you might be home soon?"

"_I'm not sure yet. I think I should stay with her for another week to make sure she's okay."_

"I guess I can understand that, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss you."

"_I miss you too. How have you been keeping yourself busy?"_

Zack smiled. "Well, I've been hanging out with my Mom and Woody a lot. The three of us have gone to see a few movies together." He laughed. "While they're great, I much rather go to a movie with you..."

_Maya chuckled. "I know what you mean. I've been watching a lot of TV with my Grandma. Everyday, she has to watch her stories, and to be honest, I don't see why they are so popular. Fortunately, I've been able to catch the Red Sox games on TV, so I still have a little bit of home here with me."_

"That reminds me...we really should go see a game together when you get back."

"_Definitely! Did you happen to catch the game on ESPN last night?"_

Zack sighed to himself. He had. His beloved Mariners had gotten their butts handed to them. "I did. When Ortiz hit that grand slam, it was game over."

_Maya laughed. "Wasn't that just awesome? I mean, for a minute I almost felt sorry for Seattle sports fans. The Mariners suck...the Seahawks suck...and the Sonics are now in Oklahoma City."_

Zack winced again. He knew full well the pains of being a Seattle sports fan. "Yeah, sucks to be them. But I think they have a chance to get better. And if the NBA expands or another team moves, I think Seattle would be the first option. I mean...its not like they are going to put a third team in to the LA area."

_Maya laughed again. "Just another team for the Celts to beat up on too."_

Zack shook his head. "I guess so..."

"_I completely forgot the other day, but you said there was something you needed to tell me. Do you remember what that was?"_

Zack paused and looked around to make sure he was alone. "Yeah, I remember it. Maya, when I tell you what I need to tell you, I hope you will understand why I did what I did..."

"_Cody...you're starting to scare me..."_

"Actually, I'm more worried that you're going to be angry when you hear what I've done..."

"_Have you been seeing another girl?"_

Zack shook his head. "No, nothing like like that. You see, Maya, the truth is..." But at that moment, there was a knock at the suite's door. Zack sighed. "Hold on, some one is at the front door..."

Zack went over to answer it, and standing there smiling at him was that Mr. Moseby guy. "Hold on a second, Maya. I baked a cake for Mr. Moseby, the manager of the hotel, and he's here to pick it up. Be right back..."

"_Okay. Hurry back."_

Zack looked up. "Hey there, Mr. Moseby. The cake is right over here." He walked into the kitchen and lifted the lid off of the cake container. "My specialty just like you ordered."

Moseby looked at it. "Not bad...not bad at all. Mother and I are both very appreciative."

Zack smiled. "Well, I aim to please."

Moseby paused. "I am kind of surprised though that it looks as good as it does..."

"Why would you say that?"

Moseby grinned. "Because while it looks like Cody's specialty, there is no way Cody could have made it. He's in Seattle, right?"

Zack just stared at him. "Huh?"

"I mean Cody is in Seattle while you are here in Boston...Isn't that correct...Zack?"

Zack swallowed and held the phone back up to his face. "Maya...I'm going to have to call you back..."

__To be Continued...__


	16. Dropping Bombs

_Chapter 16_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so...

_Boston, Massachusetts_

Zack quickly closed his phone and continued staring at Mr. Moseby. Had he really just called him 'Zack'? Zack shook his head. No, he couldn't have. Not this. Not now. This was the last thing he needed. First, he had Cody pressuring him to tell Mom the truth soon, and now he had Mr. Moseby grinning at him like the cat that ate the canary. And Zack was sure that this Moseby guy would definitely tell his Mom what he knew. Zack knew he had to find a way out of this if he was ever going to see Maya again.

He swallowed. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Mr. Moseby..."

Moseby kept grinning. "Its quite simple really. You are Zack Martin..."

"Who? I have no idea what you are..."

Moseby interrupted him. "Zip it! I know everything!"

"But..."

"But nothing. I heard you having two very interesting conversations. One was you on the phone with someone...I assume it was Cody...where you said something along the lines of Cody better not be screwing up in Seattle while you were here. The other was a few days ago in the convenience store down the street. You told the owner that your brother must have put in the application. I know for a fact that Cody put one in as he asked me to be a reference for him. Since Cody is your brother, that would make you Zack Martin..."

Zack hung his head. "Great...busted again..." He sighed and paused. "Wait a minute! How did you know my name is Zack?"

Moseby just grinned. "Oh, that was easy. I've known you existed for almost three years now."

"How?"

"Simple really. When your mother started working here, she had to fill out all of the standard forms that every other employee had to. And in the part where she had to list her next of kin, she listed both a Cody Martin and a Zack Martin. When I noticed both of your birthdays were the same, I put two and two together..."

Zack shook his head. "So, are you going to tell my Mom the truth now?"

"I think she has the right to know. Why wouldn't I tell her?"

Zack sighed and he just started pouring out the whole story. He told Moseby about meeting Cody in Texas, finding out they were twin brothers and their plan to get to know the other parent they had never known. Then he told Moseby about meeting Maya and wanting to at least tell talk to her face to face before he had to go back to Seattle.

Moseby paused and shook his head. "While I can appreciate all of that, as an adult and your mother's boss, I do have some legal obligations here to tell her the truth. If I don't, I could get into a lot of trouble..."

Zack was about to say something when heard his phone ringing again. He was going to ignore it when Moseby indicated to him that he should answer it. Zack pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw it was Cody calling. He sighed and answered it.

"Not a good time right now, Codester...I have major problems here!"

"_I'm sure you do. But I guarantee we have a much bigger problem here!"_

"Doubtful. Mr. Moseby just busted me. He knows I'm me and not you. I seriously doubt your situation is worse..."

"_Wanna bet? Try this on for size...Dad's getting married!"_

Zack just looked at his phone in shock. "What did you just say?"

"_You heard me. Dad's getting married. To some woman whom I'm guessing isn't old enough to run from Congress. Besides, I think she is a gold digger and trying to get his money!"_

Zack frowned. "She can't do that! That's my inheritance!" He paused. "I mean our inheritance..."

"_Yeah, well...we have to do something fast to stop this from happening..."_

"What can we do about it?"

"_We have an idea here, but it requires Mom being in Seattle as soon as possible...like tomorrow. That's where you come in. You have to get her here."_

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"_Easy. You tell her the truth. And if I know Mom the way I think I do, she'll want to come to Seattle to switch us back. And once she's here, we nudge her and Dad closer together..."_

Zack sighed. "Fine..." He paused. "What about this other woman?"

"_You leave that to me. I'm going to make her think I'm on board with everything for now. You just get her to the Seattle Tipton by tomorrow..."_

Zack hung his head and shook his head"Alright...I'm on it."

"_Good. I have work to do here. Call me again once you know something."_

Zack nodded, hung up the phone and turned to Mr. Moseby. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter if you tell my Mom now anyways..."

Moseby grinned. "Oh, I think I'll let you do that. Besides, I have other things to take care of..."

Zack looked at him in confusion. "Like what? You were worried about getting in trouble not more than five minutes ago..."

"I have to make sure everything is ready for you all to head back to Seattle and have a room waiting for you at the Seattle Tipton. You're Mom is a dear friend of mine. I'm off to begin the next chapter of my life. If I can help her be happy before I leave, then I want to help..."

_Seattle, Washington_

Cody closed his phone and turned to Bailey who was doing the same thing with hers. She just smiled at him.

"How did it go? Is Zack going to tell your Mom the truth?"

Cody smiled back and nodded. "Yeah, I think so. He's supposed to call me back later to tell me that its done. How did your call go?"

Bailey grinned. "Its done. The private dining room at the Seattle Tipton is reserved for tomorrow night."

"Good. Now, we just have to make sure everyone shows up tomorrow night." He sighed. "This is the part that's not going to be any fun..."

Bailey glanced up at the house. "Well, it looks like you don't have any time to waste. Your Dad and who I assume is Meredith are coming this way right now..."

Cody turned and glanced himself. "Oh well. Might as well go ahead and get this over with..."

"You want me to give you some time alone with them?"

He paused and smiled. "Actually, I would prefer if you were right here with me. I think I have an idea..."

A few minutes later, Kurt and Meredith made their way down the dock, and Cody and Bailey stood up to face them. Kurt paused for a minute and turned to Bailey.

"Bailey...would you give us a few minutes alone with Zack?"

Before Bailey could say anything, Cody spoke up. "Actually, I'd like her to stay. I have to thank her for talking some sense into me earlier."

"Huh?"

"You see, Dad. Bailey helped me realize I was being completely unfair last night. And for that, I apologize. I shouldn't have gone off like that. You caught me off guard, and I kind of lost it..."

Kurt was surprised, but Meredith was giving Cody an odd look.

Cody continued though. "Now that I've had time to think things through, I realize I should be happy for you, Dad. Its just with the high number of women you've dated, I just never thought you would ever settle down..."

Kurt was flustered. "Ummm...well...I..." But Meredith just glared at him.

"But it made me think. For the past week, Bailey and I have started anew, so it made me realize that it was possible for former players like us to want to focus on one woman. So, I can understand where you're coming from, Dad..."

Kurt swallowed. "Thanks...I think." He paused. "Wait a minute! Are you two an item now?"

Bailey smiled and hooked her arm with Cody's. "Yes, sir. This right here is my feller..."

Cody smiled. "Oh by the way...Bailey is my date for tonight, and those are the plans I refused to give up. I still do."

Meredith finally spoke. "Well...isn't that nice?"

Cody continued though. "But Bailey and I were thinking. I really do need to atone for my behavior last night, so we came up with an idea to do just that. Tomorrow night, we've reserved the private room at the Tipton Hotel in downtown to celebrate. We should all be celebrating these exciting times for the Martin men."

Kurt's face lit up, and he smiled. "I think that sounds like a great idea!" He turned to Meredith. "Doesn't it?"

She paused and finally nodded. "Yeah, it does. What a thoughtful idea..."

Cody smiled again. "Good. Its settled then. We'll meet you there at 6:00 PM."

Kurt frowned. "Meet us there? Why not all go over together?"

Cody laughed. "Because I'm supposed to meet Bailey's parents tomorrow afternoon. How would that make me look in their eyes if I had to cancel on them at the last minute?"

"Good point. Well, I think it will be a lot of fun." He turned to Meredith again. "We have a lot of work ahead of us then planning the wedding. We should get started immediately."

That seemed to finally bring a genuine smile to her face, and they walked off talking about what they needed to get done immediately. Once they had left the dock, Bailey turned to Cody and began laughing.

"Okay, that was amazing. Should I be concerned about how good of an actor you are?"

He laughed too. "Not sure how good I am. After all, you did bust me the last time I tried to act. I just hope everything goes like we planned it..."

"Me too." She checked her watch. "Well, I should be getting home. I need to get changed. This cute guy I know is taking me out tonight..."

Cody grinned. "Oh yeah? Do I know this guy?"

Bailey grinned back. "I'm not sure. He hasn't quite been himself lately..."

He laughed. "Sounds like a real head case..."

She laughed too. "Probably...but I just can't help myself."

Bailey headed home, and Cody headed up to the house to begin getting cleaned up for later. He headed for the laundry room to get a clean towel for his shower when he heard a voice coming from the garage. Cracking the door, he could see Meredith in the garage pacing back and forth talking on her phone. So, he didn't mind stopping to listen in.

"Hey...its me...Meredith..."

She sighed. "I don't know what's going on. The little brat did a complete 180 today and is acting like he's happy for us now. He acts like he has his own little chippie now, and he can understand what his Dad is going though."

"No, not for a minute. I think he's up to something..."

"I don't know, but that boy will soon learn that if he crosses me, he won't like the consequences..."

"Oh...don't worry. Once I get that ring on my finger, I'll have him shipped off to military school or something. Oh and that loser drummer and his little daughter will be getting the boot too..."

She laughed. "Why should I care if he doesn't like it? If he doesn't, I'll just divorce him and take him for everything he's worth."

"I'll tell you this. Before long, they'll learn who runs things around here, and they'll learn that person is me!"

"Yeah, come on out tomorrow night. It'll be nice to have another pair of eyes to keep on Zack." She laughed again. "I mean...when have you ever turned down free food and drink?"

"Exactly. Okay, I should be getting back inside before Billy Ray wonders where I've headed off to."

"Alright, see you tomorrow night."

Meredith closed her phone and just shook her head as she laughed.

"This is almost too easy..."

Cody felt his blood beginning to boil. It looked like he was exactly right about Meredith. Well, she just sealed her own fate. One way or another, she would NOT be marrying his Dad. If she wanted a war with the Martin family, she just got one!

_Back in Boston, Massachusetts_

Zack was pacing back and forth in the suite waiting for his Mom to get back. He was a little nervous about how his confession would go. Unlike Maya though, he was pretty sure his Mom would still talk to him once everything was open. Fifteen minutes later, Carey finally came home carrying several large bags of groceries. Immediately, Zack went over to help her carry them in.

Carey smiled at him. "Thanks, Cody. The supermarket was a mad house today. And its July, so there is no chance of a nor'easter..."

Zack just let out a nervous laugh. "Wonder what's up with that?"

"I have no idea, but as I was waiting to check out, I glanced at some of the magazines around the counter. And it dawned on me. Its been a long time since you and I took a family vacation. How about you and I get away for a few days before school starts back?"

"Ummm...Sure I guess." Zack paused. Maybe this was the opening he needed.

"Where would you like to go, Honey?"

"Well..." He paused. "How about Seattle?"

Carey frowned at him. "Seattle? Why would you want to go there?"

He swallowed. "I thought we could go see Dad...and Cody."

Carey just stared at him in disbelief. "Go see your Dad?" Then it dawned on her what else he had said. "Wait a minute! Go see Cody? But you're Cody..."

Zack shook his head. "No...I'm not. Cody is in Seattle right now."

She shook her head in confusion. "But if Cody is in Seattle, that would mean..." She just stopped talking and her mouth fell open in shock. The words that came out of her mouth were barely above a whisper. "...that you're Zack..."

Zack just smiled. "Hi Mom..."

__To be Continued...__


	17. Nights to Remember

_Chapter 17_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so...

_Boston, Massachusetts_

Carey continued staring at Zack in shock and awe. She wasn't quite sure what to say, and suddenly, the room started spinning on her. With the last bit of energy she had, she stumbled over to the couch and sunk back into it. But her eyes never left Zack. And Zack wasn't sure what to say either...especially with the funny expression on his Mom's face. Carey just kept looking at him...really looking at him.

She finally managed to gasp out. "You really are Zack..." The next thing Zack knew, she fainted. Immediately, he ran over next to her and began trying to shake her awake.

"Mom! Mom! Wake up!"

Carey's eyes fluttered back open, but she just looked at him again.

"Zack?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Mom. Its me."

"But...but...but how?"

He sighed. "Well, turns out Cody and I were both on our ways to the University of Texas for a camp – him for math and me for basketball..." Zack continued telling her about how he and Cody had met and then the plan they devised. "So, I ended up back here in Boston, and he's out in Seattle. We both wanted to get to know the parent we never knew..." He paused. "...Are you mad?"

Carey burst in to tears and just pulled him into a tight hug. "Of course not, Honey. I'm not mad at all..." She pulled back and smiled at him. "I mean...look at you. You're so grown up! The last time I saw you, you were just a baby..."

"Well, that was a long time ago. And a lot of years where I've grown up without a Mom. No offense, Mom, but the idea you and Dad had to separate us totally sucks!"

She nodded. "I know. And you're right. It does suck. But now that everyone knows about each other, I promise you will do something to fix the mess that your father and created so long ago..."

"Really?"

"Really. But you are right about one thing. We have to go to Seattle right now. You and Cody have to switch back places. Legally, you are the responsibility of your father while Cody is my responsibility. It doesn't make it right, but that's the way the court system is."

Zack nodded. "I guess so."

Carey just looked at him again. "How did I not notice that you weren't Cody?"

He smiled. "I wouldn't worry about it. So far, only two people were able to figure it out. And both times it was my fault for being stupid."

"Yeah? Who?"

"The first was Woody. He asked me about some Ferran guy, and I told him I had know idea who he was talking about..."

Carey laughed. "Yeah, I would have saw through that too. Cody's a huge Ferran Adria fan. Who else knows?"

"Moseby. Turns out his little cake baking thing was a stunt to test his theory. And I would have gotten away with it if he hadn't overheard me talking on the phone to Cody...about all things...getting busted."

Carey nodded. "So, he didn't fare much better either, huh?"

"Actually, he has. As far as I know, the only person who's busted him was Addison. I had to tell you the truth or Moseby was. Woody and Addison had both agreed to keep our secrets..."

She smiled. "Addison...I bet she's grown up into such a lovely young woman..."

He nodded. "She has. I guess you'll get to see for yourself here shortly..."

"That's right. I need to schedule time off and get us booked on a flight to Seattle as soon as I can..." But before Carey could finish her thought, there was a knock at the suite door. She got up to answer it and found Mr. Moseby standing there grinning.

"Mr. Moseby...just the person I was about to go looking for..."

"Let me guess. You need time off to head to Seattle..."

Carey nodded. "Exactly. I understand you've met my other son, Zack."

"I have. I must say. I knew he existed due to your next of kin forms, but if I hadn't overheard him talking on the phone, I wouldn't have been any of the wiser."

"Well, I have to switch him back with Cody, so..."

Moseby finished her sentence. "You need to head to Seattle. Done and done. You've been given time off for a family emergency, and the Tipton jet will be waiting to take you to Seattle first thing in the morning..."

Carey just looked at him in surprise. "I don't understand..."

He grinned again. "Just helping out a friend. Besides, when I agreed to take my new position in the company, Mr. Tipton promised me some favors..." He paused. "Even though I had to remind him who I was when I made the phone call a little while ago..."

Carey laughed. "Well, while Mr. Tipton might not miss you around here, everyone else will. No one more than London I bet..."

Moseby sighed. "Probably not. I'm going the same place she is to continue to watch over her..."

"Oh..."

"Exactly. Anyways. I hope everything works out for everyone." He turned to Zack. "And Mother wanted me to tell you that she loved the cake. So, you might have some talent there after all..."

Zack laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

With that, Moseby left, and Carey turned back to Zack. "Well, I guess that gives us one last night just to ourselves. How about a mother/son day for just the two of us?"

Zack smiled. "I'd really like that. I just hope this isn't the last one of these."

"I promise. It won't."

For the rest of the day, Carey and Zack just hung out together really getting to know each other. And like everyone else who had met both of the twins, she was quickly learning just how different her boys were. But that didn't matter to her. She loved them both equally and really did look forward to getting to know her other son better. When it came time for them to call it a night, both were sad that there day together was coming to an end.

_Seattle, Washington_

Cody did his best to calm himself down after hearing what Meredith's nefarious plan was. He vowed to himself that no matter what else happened, that woman would marry his father over his dead body. But he did his best to try to put those thoughts on the back burner for the time being. He had a big evening planned, and he wanted to make it as perfect as possible. So, after showering and dressing in the nicest clothes he could find in Zack's closet, he was checking himself out in the mirror. He didn't know where it had come from, but Cody was glad to find a sweater vest hidden in a drawer. And as he was doing one final glance over of himself, he heard a whistle behind him. Turning, he saw Addison smiling at him.

"You clean up pretty well. Though, when your grandmother gave that sweater vest to Zack, I thought he said he was going to burn it..."

Cody laughed. "I'm glad he didn't. It was the only thing I could find the seemed appropriate."

"So, tonight's the big night. I'm glad you aren't letting the craziness of the past couple of days around here stop you from going on it..."

"Not a chance of that. I've been looking forward to this all week. Besides..." He looked around to make sure no one else was around. "...everything else is being taken care of..."

"Good. I saw Meredith earlier, and she gave me a look like I was beneath her."

Cody smiled. "Don't worry, Addison. She'll be gone soon. And besides, she's the one who would have to look up to see you...even if you do interrupt moments I wish you hadn't..."

She laughed. "Sorry about that. But, if you're a good boy, maybe you'll get another chance tonight..."

"We'll see. Alright. I'm off."

Cody headed out, but not before stopping to 'borrow' some roses from the bushes behind the house. Making his way over to Bailey's house, he rang the door bell. But instead of Bailey answering it, a large, intimidating man opened the door. And from the look he was giving him, Cody suddenly felt scared.

"Ummm...I'm here to pick up Bailey..."

The man just kept glaring at Cody until a blonde woman pushed him aside. And she was actually smiling at him.

"Don't mind Clyde here. He likes to intimidate anyone who tries to date one of our daughters. I'm Eunice, and you must be Cody."

Cody nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."

Clyde finally spoke. "Cody? I thought his name was Zack?"

Eunice just shook her head. "No, this is that Martin boy's twin brother. You remember Bailey telling us all about it last night, remember?"

Clyde was confused. "Huh?"

Eunice shook her head again and sighed. "I knew we should have made you turn the TV off so you would focus. I'll explain everything to you again later." She turned back to Cody. "I must say...when Bailey told us the whole story, I thought I was listening to the plot of a Lifetime movie..."

Cody smiled. "I know, but unfortunately, its actually my life. But I can't be too disappointed because I might not have met your daughter otherwise. That alone has made this all the worthwhile..."

"Awww..."

At that moment, Bailey came down the stairs, and to Cody, she looked amazing. He couldn't help but stare in awe and found himself tongue tied. She made her way over to the door and smiled at him. Finally, Cody was able to hold up the flowers.

"These are for you..."

She just beamed at him. "I've never been brought flowers before. Thank you so much, Cody. They're beautiful!"

"You're very welcome."

Bailey turned to her Mom. "Would you put these in some water, Momma?" Eunice took the flowers, and Bailey turned back to Cody. She grabbed his arm. "Lets go!"

As they headed out, they took their time walking towards the restaurant. And as they walked, they continued to talk.

"Okay...your Dad looked like he wanted to rip me to shreads."

Bailey sighed. "Yeah, I hope you don't mind, but I told Momma and Daddy the truth. Unfortunately, I don't think Dad was paying attention. He thought you were Zack..."

"I don't mind..." He laughed. "Glad to see someone bought that I was Zack though..."

She laughed too. "True I guess. So, did anything happen after I left earlier?"

Cody shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I have it under control. I just want to focus on tonight..."

She stopped them in their tracks. "Cody...what happened?"

He sighed and told her of Meredith's phone call he overheard. Bailey just smiled at him. "Well, now we know that she does have bad intentions and don't have to worry about hurting an innocent person."

"Yeah, I just wish I had thought to record what she said with my cell phone. I'd have definite proof to cancel the wedding if worst came to worst..."

Bailey paused and kept smiling. "Who says you don't?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know you didn't record it, and I know you didn't record it, but we're the only ones who don't. And that includes Meredith. If she gets out of line, just show her your phone and mention you have a recording of an interesting conversation..."

Cody grinned. "Bailey, I know I've said it before, but you really are a genius!"

"Thank you. Now, how about we forget about that and focus on our evening?"

"Consider it done."

Dinner was interesting but still delicious. Trying the cuisine and customs of other cultures was something they both enjoyed immensely and vowed to do again soon. The movie was wonderful as well. Of course, it didn't matter to them that they were two of six people in the entire theater. As they walked out of the theater, they were still laughing and talking about the movie in Japanese. They took their time heading back to Bailey's house where they took their time saying goodnight.

Cody smiled. "I don't think I've ever had a more enjoyable evening. I got to try new food, see a funny movie and practice my Japanese all while getting to do it all with a beautiful lady..."

Bailey smiled back. "I know exactly how you feel. I had a lot of fun too." She paused. "We will do this again sometime..."

"Yeah, we will. If I needed more motivation to make our plan work, I definitely have it now..."

"Me too..."

He sighed. "As much as I don't want to, I should bid you a goodnight. We have a big day tomorrow."

"Yeah we do..." She grinned. "You've met my parents. Time for me to meet your Mom..."

"Yeah, it is..." Cody leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Bailey."

"Goodnight, Cody." She leaned in to kiss his cheek too, but she decided that wasn't what she really wanted to do. Instead, she leaned in and caught his lips with her own. And though he was surprised at first, Cody returned the kiss almost immediately. When they finally pulled back, both paused and rubbed their lips with their fingers.

"Wow..."

Bailey giggled. "Right back at you..."

He grinned at her. "I take it back...this is my best day ever."

__Back in Boston, Massachusetts__

That night, Carey had a nightmare. In it, she was meeting Kurt again for the first time in years, and it was going horribly. In it, he was yelling at her for breaking up their family and told her that he hated her. And that dream shook her to the core. In fact, by five that morning, she decided to go ahead and get up for the day. After she had cleaned up and fixed breakfast, she was still feeling jumpy and nervous. So, she decided one little drink would help calm her nerves. Well, one lead to two and two lead to four. By the time Zack woke up the next morning, he could tell that his mother was feeling no pain. So, he had her lay down on the couch while he want to clean up.

When he came back outside, Carey was sawing logs. Zack sighed and pulled out his phone.

"Woodchuck, I need some help and you're the only one here I can turn to. Pack a bag. You're going to Seattle with me!"

An hour later, Woody was there, and between the two of them, they got all of their bags downstairs before heading back upstairs to help Carey get downstairs. The Tipton airport shuttle was waiting on them, and they helped get Carey into the van before she passed out again. Woody turned to Zack.

"I'm guessing you and Cody are finally switching back, huh?"

Zack sighed. "That's what Mom thinks. I'll tell you the whole story later..."

"What about Maya?"

Zack shook his head. "I don't know, Woody...I just don't know..."

__To be Continued...__


	18. Coming Together

_Chapter 18_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so...

_Seattle, Washington_

Fortunately, Zack was very familiar with Sea-Tac Airport, so he could help navigate Woody and his severely hungover mother through it without any problems. And that was a good thing as Carey had passed out again as soon as they had gotten on the plane and slept the whole way to Seattle. And even more fortunate, Moseby had managed to have the the Seattle Tipton's airport shuttle there waiting on them when they arrived. So once everyone loaded into the van, they all sat back and relaxed on the trip to the hotel. By the time they got there, Carey was sobered up enough to check in. And while she did that, Zack slipped away to make a phone.

"Hey Broseph...its me. We're here. What's the plan now?"

_Cody paused. "Okay, Dad and everyone else is supposed to be there by six o'clock this evening. But I already told Dad that I would meet him there, so I can be there early. Lets see. Its almost noon now...I'll be there by two o'clock."_

"How did you explain that you weren't coming with him?"

_Cody paused again. "I'll explain that to you later."_

"Alright, well...we had sort of a problem. I think Mom got so freaked out about seeing Dad again, she started drinking a little early..."

"_Really? I've never seen Mom have more than one before, and she only has one every so often. She must really be nervous..."_

"I guess so. I had to bring Woody with me to help out. He was the only person I could count on."

"_Okay, well, I'll be there in a couple of hours. In the meantime, get Mom coffee...lots and lots of coffee."_

Soon after, everyone headed up to their suite in the hotel, and all of them were surprised to see that it looked exactly like the one they had in Boston. And immediately, Carey went to lie down. While she did that, Zack and Woody sunk down into the couch to relax themselves. If they were honest, a nap sounded real good to them as well. Well, it did until Zack's phone began ringing again. He groaned figuring it was Cody calling him back to tell him something, but when he saw it was Maya, he immediately answered it.

"Maya!"

"_Hey Cody...I just wanted to call you back to see if everything was okay. When you hung up yesterday, it seemed like something was really bothering you..."_

Zack sighed. "Yeah. Something was bothering me. An...ummm...family emergency came up here too. In fact, my Mom and I had to fly out to Seattle this morning to take care of it..."

"_You're in Seattle too?"_

Zack frowned. "Wait a minute! You're here too?"

"_Yeah. This is where my grandmother lives. Where are you?"_

"We just checked into the Seattle Tipton not more than fifteen minutes ago." He paused. This was going to be his chance to finally talk to her in person. "Maya...is there anyway you can come down here? There's something I really need to tell you as soon as possible, and I'd prefer to do it in person..."

"_Cody...you're scaring me again. But I guess I can be there in a couple of hours if its that important..."_

"Trust me. It is. We're in Suite 2302. Just come on up when you get here."

"_Okay, Cody...I'll see you soon then."_

Zack hung up his phone and smiled. Maybe things were going to work out for him after all.

_On the Other Side of Town_

Cody had woken up early, cleaned up and dressed. He knew today was the day, and he hoped and prayed everything would work out the way they wanted it to. Fixing himself a bowl of cereal, he sat down at the kitchen table to go over the plan once more in his mind. He was so occupied thinking that he didn't notice his Dad slip into the kitchen.

"You nervous about today?"

Cody looked up and paused. And truthfully, he answered. "Yeah, I am."

Kurt sat down next to him. "Meeting a girl's parents can be a real nerve wracking experience. No matter how nice of a guy you are, you'll never be good enough for her Dad." He laughed. "But, if some guy wanted to take out Addison, I'm sure Billy and I would probably think the same thing..."

Cody laughed too. "So would I."

"I do have to ask. You and Bailey? I never would have saw that coming. You two are just polar opposites. Now her and..." He paused. "You know...nevermind."

"What?"

"I just had a crazy thought. Must be a sign of me getting older, huh?"

Cody shrugged. "Maybe...Now its my turn to ask. No offense, but aren't you and Meredith getting married awfully quickly? What's the rush?"

Kurt sighed. "Its like I told you. We all could benefit by having a woman around the house. You said so yourself..."

"Yeah, I did. But that's no reason to marry someone. I mean..." He smiled. "I may only be fifteen, but even I know that I won't get married until I truly love someone. You know...someone I can't imagine my life without..."

Kurt just shook his head. "Its not always that easy, Zack..."

"Of course it is. You always told me not to settle for second best. Why would I do that in something that is so important?"

"Because sometimes, you can't always have what you want..."

Cody smiled. "Says who?"

Kurt just looked at him funny. "Just trust me on this one, Son..."

Cody shrugged again. "I don't know, Dad. Maybe its all that world history still on my brain, but things that don't start off with the right foundation often fail."

"Like what?"

"Look at the British colonies. The crown didn't do things the right way, and they soon had a revolution on their hands. And in the end, they lost their colonies and a whole lot of money." He paused. "And Dad, if you're set on doing this, I have two words for you – prenuptial agreement."

Kurt just laughed. "Where in the world did you learn about things like that?"

Cody paused. "TV..."

"I wouldn't worry about it, Zack. I don't think Meredith is like that. She has her own money."

"Then she shouldn't have a problem signing one then. I'm serious, Dad. You're a very successful musician. I'm sure I'm not telling you anything your agent probably already has."

Kurt paused. "You really think so?"

"I'd do it, Dad. If Meredith objects, that could really tell you something about her..."

He nodded. "I'll think about it..."

Cody nodded. "Alright..." At that minute, Cody's cell phone rang. He saw it was Zack calling. "Excuse me a second, Dad. Private phone call here..."

Five minutes later, Cody came back into the kitchen. "Sorry, Dad. That was Bailey. I have to get going. See you downtown later."

Kurt nodded. "See you then. Good luck."

Cody smiled. "You too, Dad."

_The Seattle Tipton_

Carey finally woke up form her nap, but she wasn't feeling much better at all. She finally came out of the bedroom in the suite and found Zack and Woody sitting on the couch in the main part of the suite.

"Did I dream we came to Seattle or are we actually here?"

Zack laughed. "We're here, Mom."

She nodded. "Have you spoken to Cody or your father yet?"

"Yeah, Cody said Dad would be here about six o'clock tonight. Cody said he would try to be here a little earlier..."

Carey paused and felt her stomach rumbling again. "I think I'm going to throw up..." She ran back into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

Woody turned to Zack. "When are you going to tell her the truth? You know...that your Dad has no idea about the switch, that he has no idea that we're all here or the fact that he's getting married?"

Zack sighed. "I don't know. I was kind of waiting for Cody to get her and let him handle that part. I've been more focused on what I'm going to tell Maya."

"What are you going to tell her?"

He shook his head. "I'm not sure yet..."

About that time, Carey came back out of the bathroom. "I don't feel so good..."

Woody stood up. "Coffee. I'll head down to the front desk and order some."

Zack nodded. "Good idea. Get a whole pot of it..."

Woody headed out, and Zack told his Mom to go take a hot shower. He was hoping that it would make her feel better. Carey nodded and headed back into the bathroom. Zack just began pacing back and forth feeling his own stomach begin to churn as well. At that moment, his cell phone rang and he answered it.

"Hello?"

"_Cody? Its me, Maya. I'm in a cab on my way to the hotel. I should be there in fifteen minutes."_

Zack nodded. "Good. Tell you what. I'll actually head down to the lobby to meet you instead. There is something I really need to tell you. Its all going to come out anyways today, but I want you to know before it does."

"_Okay, but I'm really getting concerned here..."_

"Don't worry about it too much. I promise you. Its not what you're thinking at all..."

Zack hung up the phone. He went over to knock on the door to the bathroom and told his Mom he was going to head down to the lobby himself for a minute. She told him to go and that she would be a while. He sighed as he left the suite.

"I sure hope this works..."

_Back Across Town_

Cody arrived at Bailey's house to pick her up again before they headed down to the hotel. And when he knocked on the door this time, Eunice welcomed him inside.

"I understand today is the day when everything's going to happen, huh?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. But that's where Bailey has been my rock. She's been there to talk me down when I needed it or give me a good idea."

Eunice smiled. "Well, I wish you luck today."

Bailey came down the stairs, but she was being followed by Addison. This took Cody by surprise.

"Addison?"

Addison just grinned at him. "You think I was going to miss today? I can't wait to see your Mom again either. Besides, I already told you I wanted to be there when Zack finds out about you and Bailey..."

Cody just laughed. "Thanks...I think."

The three of them headed out and caught a bus downtown to the Tipton Hotel. Walking in to the lobby, Cody immediately began laughing.

Bailey turned to him. "What's so funny?"

"I'm guessing every single Tipton hotel across the country looks exactly the same. For a second there, I thought I was walking into the Boston one. Its looks exactly like this...except for there is no Mr. Moseby behind the front desk."

Bailey and Addison just shook their heads, but it wasn't long until Cody saw something else that looked eerily familiar to him – Woody!

"Woodchuck!"

Woody turned and saw either Zack or Cody standing with two girls. He walked over to them and paused.

"Are you Zack or Cody?"

"I'm Cody."

He leaned in and whispered. "Real Cody or Zack saying he's Cody?"

Cody laughed. "I'm real Cody. Good to see you again, Woody. Woody, this is Bailey and Addison. I believe you remember Addison from our cooking lesson."

Woody's eyes went wide. "Whoa...it is you! You're even prettier in person than you are on the computer..."

Addison blushed and smiled. "You really think so?"

He nodded and smiled. "I know so."

Cody paused and looked at Bailey. She just shrugged. So, Cody continued. "What are you doing down here, Woody?"

Woody tore his eyes away from Addison. "Oh...Your Mom's now hung over, so I came down to get her coffee."

Cody sighed. "You should probably get going. We only have a few hours for her to get back to normal. We're going to head up and see her now."

Addison spoke up. "Ummm...why don't I give Woody a hand?"

Woody grinned. "I'd like that. Come on. Lets go!"

Before Cody could say anything, both were gone in a flash. Bailey just shook her head and laughed.

"Okay...this whole thing keeps getting weirder and weirder...and I'm loving every second of it!"

Cody laughed too. "Tell me about it. What else could happen now?" He paused. "You ready to meet my Mom?"

"Yeah. I'm ready. I can't wait to meet the person who is responsible for you being the sweet, wonderful guy that you are..."

Cody smiled. "Well, I've met your Mom, so I know where you get yours from..."

Bailey smiled back. "You ain't seen nothing yet..." She grabbed his hands in hers, leaned in and kissed him again which Cody happily returned.

When they pulled back, Cody was still smiling. "I will never get tired of doing that..."

"Cody! What are you doing?"

Both Cody and Bailey turned and saw a brunette girl about their own age glaring at him. And for some reason, the girl looked vaguely familiar to him.

"Huh?"

"Cody! What are you doing kissing and holding hands with Bailey!"

Cody and Bailey turned in another direction and saw Zack looking at them with a look of horror on his face. Of course, Zack happened to see Maya on the other side of them.

"Maya!"

But Maya could only look back and forth between the both of them. "Th...th...there's two of you!" And with that, she fainted in the middle of the lobby.

__To be Continued...__


	19. Shocks to the Systems

_Chapter 19_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so...

_Seattle, Washington_

Immediately, Zack ran over to Maya's side and lifted her head up into his lap. He began trying to awaken her as he constantly said her name over and over. Cody and Bailey could only look on in shock and surprise. For Cody, it was finally dawning on him who the girl was, and for Bailey, it was surprising to see Zack acting so concerned about a girl. Maya finally began fluttering her eyes, and when she finally opened them up, she saw Zack looking down on her in concern.

"Maya? Are you okay?"

She paused and was about to say something when she noticed Cody and Bailey standing behind him. Her eyes went wide again. "There really are two of you!"

Zack smiled. "Yeah...that was kind of what I was going to tell you..."

Maya sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness. I saw him kissing her, and I began freaking out." She laughed. "You never told me you had a twin brother, Cody..."

Zack paused. "Well, that's half the story. You see...that was Cody kissing her." He paused and glared at Cody. "Which you and I need to talk about when we get the chance!" He turned back to Maya. "You see. I'm not Cody Martin. I'm Zack Martin. That's what I've been trying to tell you for the longest time..."

Maya frowned. "I don't understand."

He nodded. "Why don't we get you up off the floor, and I'll explain everything." Maya nodded too, and they headed over to one of the couches in the lobby. Zack spoke again. "You see, Maya...Until a few weeks ago, neither Cody or I knew that we were twin brothers or that the other even existed. But for some reason, both of us were on our way to the University of Texas..." He continued telling her of how they figured out they were twins, and their plans to switch places with each other to get to know their other parent. "I was going to tell you on two different occasions, but each time I tried, my Mom either showed up or was there, and I couldn't..."

Maya shook her head to try to get everything clear in her mind. "So, for the past week, it was you...Zack...that I was getting to know?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, it was."

Maya turned to Cody. "And you were in Seattle the whole time?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I was here with Dad. I remember seeing you around school, but the person you got to know was Zack..."

Maya nodded too and turned to Bailey. "And who are you?"

Bailey smiled. "I'm Bailey. I'm Cody's...the real Cody's..." She turned to him. "...girlfriend?"

Cody smiled at her. "Yeah, you are."

Zack shook his head in confusion. "Wait a minute! When did that happen? Did she think you were me and finally give in?"

Bailey snorted. "Hardly!"

Cody shook his head. "No, no at all. Bailey's known I'm really Cody since the beginning. She was there the night I called you and told you that Addison had discovered who I was. It was she and Addison who figured out I wasn't you my first night here. As for her and I, well..." He grinned. "...I just couldn't help myself..."

Maya spoke up again. "Wait a minute! Who is Addison?"

Zack laughed. "Addison is like a sister to me..."

Cody cut him off. "To me too."

Zack continued. "...She and I have grown up together. I've known her my whole life." He paused. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

Cody laughed. "That's a funny thing. She met Woody and is off with him..."

Zack frowned. "Woody? Seriously?"

Maya shook her head again. "And is Woody the same guy you were hanging out with you in the park?"

"Yeah, that's him..."

Maya rubbed her eyes. "This all sounds so crazy..."

Zack smiled at her. "Try living it. But I wanted to be honest with you because I really like you, Maya..."

She just looked at him. "But I don't even know who you are!"

"Sure you do. I'm the same person you spent all of last week with..."

"Because I thought you were Cody!"

Cody spoke up. "To be fair, before then, you and I didn't really know each other at all..."

Maya sighed. "Still, it doesn't change the fact that he lied to me from the very beginning!"

Zack's face fell, and Cody and Bailey could tell that her rejection of him was really affecting him in a negative way. Both felt sorry for him, and for the first time, Bailey could actually see that Zack might not be as bad as she originally thought. She spoke up.

"Maybe you should try to get to know the real him then? You know...start over from scratch..."

Zack looked at Bailey in surprise. Was she actually sticking up for him? But Maya continued to look at Bailey. "Answer me this. If you had found out after you began liking the real Cody that he wasn't who had made himself out to be, how would you feel?"

Bailey paused. The real answer was that she would never have given him the time of day if she thought he had been Zack. But she knew she couldn't tell this Maya girl that. "I don't think how I would have handled things matters. I'm not you, and you aren't me. Besides, you have to take into account why they did what they did. If you think about it, they had nothing but the best intentions."

Maya shook her head. "That may be so, but you know what they say about good intentions..."

"Yeah, I do. But I'm glad they did. Otherwise, I might not have ever met Cody. And I'm really glad that I did..."

Maya stood up. "I'm sorry. This is all just too much for me to handle right now. I need to get out of here. I need time to think." And just like that, she ran out of the hotel.

Zack just stood there watching her run out of the hotel, and his heart sank. And to Cody and Bailey, the expression on his face as he watched her leave told them all they needed to know – that Zack really did like this girl. Cody walked over to his brother and wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

"You did the right thing, Bro."

Zack sighed. "I guess so...but why does it hurt so much?"

Cody smiled at him. "Hey, I'm proud of you. I remember how you were with that Marcy girl back at UT. You've come along way since then..."

Zack turned to him. "I thought her name was Mandy..."

Cody sighed. "No, it wasn't..."

Bailey spoke up. "Cody's right. I didn't think you had it in you to like just one girl. I was pretty sure you were a confirmed player. I see I was wrong."

Zack looked at her. "Speaking of which. You could have completely blown me out of the water just then. You didn't. I thought you hated me."

She shook her head. "I never hated you. Disliked, yes, but hated, no. Besides, I saw how you were with her. Its obvious you really like her. Besides, if I want to have Cody in my life, I have to accept that you are his twin brother, and I'll have to deal with you."

Zack nodded. "Thanks." He paused and shook his head. "But you two are now an item? How the heck did that happen? That still boggles my mind..."

Cody grinned. "Quite easy. I've never met anyone like Bailey before in my life. I can just be me with her, and that's okay."

Bailey grinned too. "Same here. Once Addison and I figured out he wasn't you, we checked him out on line. Turns out Cody and I had an awful lot in common. And then we got to know each other."

Cody walked over and took Bailey's hand in his. "We had our first official date last night. Best night of my life."

"Mine too."

Zack just shook his head and sighed. "Looks like I'm going to have to get used to this too. First you two and now Woody and Addison have disappeared off somewhere...We better get up to Mom to make sure she's alright."

Cody nodded. "Yeah, we should. But Zack...call me an optimist or a romantic, but I don't think you've seen the last of Maya. If she didn't really like you, she wouldn't have been as torn up as she was."

"I hope your right..."

_Back up on the 23__rd__ Floor_

Carey had finished showering and changing clothes, and when she headed back out into the suite, she saw she was alone. The coffee hadn't gotten back yet, so she decided to go looking for it herself. So, she headed out of the suite too and caught an elevator down to the lobby. In the lobby, in the two side by side elevators, just as the doors to the cab Carey was in opened up, the doors to the cab Zack, Cody and Bailey were on closed. Carey headed over to the bar in the lobby, sat down and ordered a cup of coffee. The bartender just looked at her.

"Rough day?"

She sighed. "You have no idea how rough..."

_Meanwhile_

Kurt and Meredith were walking in the front door of the hotel. And Meredith could tell that Kurt's mind was elsewhere.

"Earth to Kurt!"

He snapped his attention back to her. "Huh?"

"What were you thinking about? You were a million miles away..."

"Oh...Just being here in the Tipton hotel made me think of...something else."

"Well, get your head out of the clouds. Supposedly, this is one of the nicest hotels in Seattle. It would be a great place to get married. The Tipton Hotel chain is known for hosting very nice weddings. I figured we could get here early and look around to see if we liked it."

Kurt smiled. "Good idea." He paused. "Tell you what...why don't you go get yourself a drink while I go make a phone call. There's something I need to take care of first."

Meredith smiled back. "Sounds good to me." She headed off towards the bar, and Kurt pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He dialed a number and began talking when it was picked up.

"Ari, its me...Kurt Martin..."

"Well, you are my agent..."

"Yes, that Kurt Martin!"

"Don't you dare try to pawn me off on to Lloyd!"

"That's better! Look, I need you to have a prenuptial agreement drawn up for me..."

_Back in the Hotel Bar_

Carey was still drinking coffee when a younger blonde woman sat down next to her and ordered a cosmopolitan. Carey just focused on the mug of coffee in front of her and trying to clear her head of the cobwebs.

Meredith happened to glance over, and for some reason, the woman sitting next to her looked familiar.

"Excuse me. I don't mean to bother you, but you look familiar to me..."

Carey shrugged. "I don't see how. I live in Boston..."

Meredith's eyes went wide. "That's how I know you! You work at the Boston Tipton, don't you?"

Carey frowned. "Yeah, I do..."

"I was there for a wedding last summer, and you performed at it! You were amazing! You have a beautiful voice!"

Carey smiled. "Well, thank you. I'm Carey..."

Meredith cut her off. "Have you ever thought about cutting your own album?"

Carey paused. "Well, I'd be lying if I said it never crossed my mind, but..."

Meredith reached into her pocket and pulled out her card. "I'm a publicist for a large record company here in Seattle. Give me a call if you decide you are ready to make one..."

"Thanks...I will." She nodded to the bartender. "Can I get an extra large coffee to go?" She turned back to Meredith. "I hope you'll excuse me. I have to go find my boys..."

_Back up in Suite 2302_

Zack, Cody and Bailey walked into the suite, but noticed that no one was there. Cody turned to Zack.

"Where's Mom?"

Zack shrugged. "I have no idea. When I left to head downstairs, she was in the shower trying to sober up..."

Cody checked his watch. "Okay, its only three. We still have a couple of hours before Meredith and Dad are due to show up." He paused. "And where are Woody and Addison? They should have been back here with the coffee by now..."

At that moment, the door to the suite opened, and in walked Woody and Addison laughing about something.

Zack glared at Woody. "Where have you been? And where is the coffee you went to get?"

Woody paused. "Oops. I forgot all about it."

Cody just looked at him. "But that's where you two were going once you left us in the lobby!"

Addison blushed. "We got to talking and went for a walk. We forgot all about it..." She paused and began laughing. "Oh my gosh..."

"What?"

"Well, I knew you two were twin brothers, but seeing you two there standing right next to each other makes it a reality..."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Fine. We're twins. Now, we have to find Mom!"

_Back in the Lobby_

Carey took her extra large coffee and headed through the lobby over to the elevators and pushed the button. Once the elevator got there, she stepped inside and pushed the twenty three button. At that exact moment, Kurt was walking across the lobby and happened to glance over at the elevator. Carey saw him, smiled and waved at him. Kurt just stopped dead in his tracks. He blinked his eyes several times, but every time, he saw his ex-wife standing there. His eyes went wide, he paled and his mouth fell open in shock.

__To be Continued...__


	20. The Truth Will Set You Free

_Chapter 20_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so...

Zack, Cody, Bailey, Addison, and Woody were still all standing around the suite trying to figure out where Carey could have gone. They bandied about ideas about where she could have gone, but none of them sounded very plausible. And as no one could remember seeing her in the lobby, they thought she might have gone for ice. But after ten more minutes and no sign of her, they dismissed that idea. Finally, they decided to break up into three search parties and go look for her. But just as they were about the head out, the door to the suite opened up, and in walked Carey. And from the look on her face, they could tell she wasn't exactly happy. She looked back and forth between her two sons and sighed.

"Okay, first of all, come here you two..." And with that she pulled Zack and Cody in a tight hug. "Do you two have any idea how long I dreamed of hugging both of my boys at the same time."

"We know, Mom."

Carey pulled back. "Now that that is out of the way..." She frowned. "I saw your father down in the lobby, and he looked totally surprised that I was here! I thought he knew we were coming..."

Zack and Cody looked at each other. "Ummm...well...you see..."

She looked back and forth between the two of them. "Okay...you two really do look alike. Cody?"

Cody raised his hand. "That's me, Mom..."

Carey was about to speak again but paused. "How can I be sure?"

Cody sighed. "Its me. C'est moi. Soy yo. Es ist mir. Sono io. Ut me. Det är jag. Зто я..."

Carey laughed. "Okay, its you..."

Zack turned to Cody. "What did you just say?"

Bailey smiled. "He just said 'its me' in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Latin, Swedish and Russian."

Carey looked over at her. "And who are you?"

Cody grinned. "That's Bailey. She's my girlfriend."

Carey whipped her head back around and looked at him. "Your what?"

He laughed. "My girlfriend. I'll explain it all to you later, Mom..."

She shook her head to clear it. "Yes, you most certainly will. Lets get back on the main topic here. I have the feeling that your father had no idea we were coming."

Cody sighed again. "Because he doesn't. He doesn't even know he had me with him for the past week. You see, Mom..." Cody went on to explain the whole story to her all the way down to the phone call he heard the day before. "So, you see, Mom...we needed you here to make sure Dad doesn't make another mistake."

Carey sighed. "I don't think I should get involved,Cody...This has nothing to do with me."

Addison finally spoke up. "But you have to, Aunt Carey!"

Carey turned to look at her. And it suddenly dawned on her who it was. "Addison?"

Addison smiled back at her. "Yeah. Its me."

Carey pulled Addison into a tight embrace. "Oh my gosh. I haven't seen you since you were a baby. You've definitely grown in to a beautiful young woman."

Woody grinned. "I'll agree with that."

Addison smiled. "Thank you...both."

Carey laughed. "How's your Mom doing?"

Addison paused. "Mom died a few years back..."

"Oh no! I am so sorry. You're Mom was a wonderful lady. I considered it an honor to call her my friend." Carey sighed. "I guess there is a lot that's happened in Seattle I don't know about now."

Cody spoke up. "And you'll have plenty of time to catch up on that later. But for now, we really need your help, Mom."

She sighed again. "Again, I don't think this has anything to do with me..."

Cody smiled. "What about the phone call I told you I overheard? Surely you don't want to see someone evil like that as our new stepmother..."

She looked at him. "And do you have proof of this phone call? If you do, just give it to your Dad..."

"Ummm...well...not exactly. I didn't record it. But we don't need it with you here."

Carey paused and just looked at Cody again. "Wait a minute here...Did you two plot to get me here in hopes of getting your father and I back together?"

Zack hemmed and hawed. "Well..."

She groaned. "Just wonderful. Boys, Kurt Martin and I have absolutely nothing in common...anymore."

Cody grinned. "I don't know about all of that...I can think of at least two things you have in common."

"Yes, you two boys, but that's it!" She sighed. "I need more coffee. I'm going to head downstairs to get some more. While I do that, I want you two to go find your father and explain to him this silly little plan you've all come up with..." And with that, Carey headed back out of the suite.

Zack turned to his brother. "Well, there goes that..."

Cody kept grinning. "Says who? As far as I'm concerned, we've only just begun...

Everyone split up again to go look for Kurt. Cody and Bailey headed down to the lobby to look for their Dad, and almost immediately spotted him.

"Dad! There you are..."

Kurt sighed but looked very distracted. "Zack, there you are. I'm supposed to be meeting Meredith here in the lobby. Would you two mind waiting here and telling her that I will be right back once I take care of something?"

Bailey smiled. "Of course we will, Mr. Martin."

"Thanks."

Kurt headed off and was looking everywhere for Carey. He knew he had seen her, and he was pretty sure he hadn't dreamed the whole thing. He headed over towards the shopping promenade to keep looking, and that's when he saw Zack again. Kurt frowned.

"Zack, I thought you were going to wait in the lobby for Meredith?"

"I was? Oh, I was. I'll head right back over there..."

"Good." Kurt was plenty distracted, but even he stopped to turn around. "Zack?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

"Were you wearing the same shirt five minutes ago?"

Zack smiled. "I sure was. Your mind must be starting to slip, Dad."

Kurt just nodded. "I'm starting to think you're right..." He shook his head. "I'll see you later."

Just as Kurt had left the area, the door to the women's room opened up, and Meredith walked out. She noticed Zack standing there and walked over to him.

"Have you seen your father?"

Zack turned to her. "You talking to me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm talking to you, DeNiro. Have you seen your father?"

Zack smiled. "Ahhh...Meredith...I must say, you're looking very pretty today."

She glared at him. "You can drop the Jekyll and Hyde routine. I'm not buying it. And I didn't buy your oh so sincere act yesterday. I'm on to you, little boy!"

Zack kept smiling. "What ever do you mean?"

Meredith shook her head. "Whatever. If you do see your father, tell him that I'm looking for him."

Kurt was stilling looking around and had looked around the entire hotel, but still, he had seen no sign of Carey anywhere. The last place he looked was the pool area. Heading out there, he looked around, and then he saw her. Across the way, he saw Carey walk out on the other side of the pool. And Kurt couldn't help himself – he smiled. But then it dawned on him to wonder why she was there. So, he decided to find out. He tried to make his way over towards her, but every step of the way, it seemed like someone or something was getting in his way. Literally, he ran into a towel boy and almost fell over. Fortunately, he caught his balance.

"Dad! Are you okay?"

Kurt looked over and saw Cody, Bailey and Addison sitting around a table.

"Yeah...fine. Be right back."

He turned to continue going after Carey but ran into a waiter this time. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to catch himself this time, and he fell into the pool. When he resurfaced, he noticed everyone was looking at him – including a smiling Carey. Making his way over to the edge of the pool, he climbed out and walked over to where Carey was standing.

Carey just smiled at him. "Hello, Kurt."

Kurt smiled back. "Hello, Carey..."

"Well...gosh...there you are...all wet."

Kurt wiped the wet hair from his eyes. "Is there something going on here that I should know about? I mean...I'm completely surprised to see you here, but you don't seem surprised at all to see me..." He paused. "I mean...I haven't seen you in almost fifteen years. And then you're here...on today of all days."

Carey paused, but before she could say anything, Cody joined them.

"Dad...I can explain why she's here."

Kurt turned to him in surprise. "Wait a minute! Zack, you know who this is?"

"Actually, I do..." He paused. "And actually, I'm not Zack..."

Zack joined them at that moment too. "Actually, I'm Zack..."

Kurt's eyes went wide as he looked back and forth between his two sons. "Both of them?" He looked at Cody. "Cody?" He then looked at Zack. "Zack?"

Cody nodded. "I'm guessing you and Mom kind of think alike. You both sent us to camps at the University of Texas. One thing lead to another, and we discovered that we were brothers..."

Carey turned to Kurt. "They switched places on us..."

Kurt turned back to look at Cody. "Wait a minute...I've had Cody with me since he got back from camp?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to get to know my Dad, and Zack wanted to get to know his Mom." He paused again. "Are you mad?"

Kurt shook his head and smiled. "No, not at all...Come here." He pulled Cody into a tight hug. When he pulled back, he just looked at Cody. "I can't believe its really you. Last time I saw you, you were spitting up strained squash and showing your displeasure for it."

Cody laughed. "Well, I'm still not a big fan of squash..."

Carey nodded. "Its true. He does all of the cooking now for us and squash has never been on the menu..."

Kurt paused. "The cake?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I made it. Zack had to make one, so it was easier to just show him how..."

He paused again. "And you were actually cheering for the Red Sox, weren't you?"

Cody smiled. "Guilty again."

Kurt turned to Zack. "And you've been in Boston this whole time?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to know, Mom." He smiled. "And she's great, Dad. I don't know how you ever let her go."

Cody nodded too. "Just like I wanted to know you, Dad. I was looking at being a fifteen year old boy on the precipice of becoming a man without having his father around to guide him!"

Kurt just looked at Cody again and began laughing. "Okay, this makes so much sense now. No wonder you and Bailey were getting along much better. Was that an act too?"

Cody blushed. "No, not at all. I really really like her."

Carey finally spoke up again. "Boys, why don't you give your Dad and I few minutes alone. There are a few things he and I really need to talk about."

Zack grinned. "Fine. Take your time."

And with that, Zack and Cody headed off.

Kurt grabbed a towel and began drying himself off. But as he was doing that, he couldn't help but laugh again.

"Okay, seeing the two of them together..." He turned to Carey. "Seeing you again..." He smiled. "I must say, this is ranking up there with the craziest days of my life."

Carey smiled too. "Tell me about..."

He paused and just looked at Carey. It might have been fifteen years later, but she was just as beautiful as he remembered. And her smile...it has always caused him to go weak in the knees. "Carey...you haven't changed a bit..."

She just looked at him. Fifteen years later, and he was still as handsome as ever. Standing in front of him again, she could definitely tell where their boys got their good looks. And when he smiled at her, she felt those same shivers go down the back of her spine. "I could say the same thing about you, Kurt..."

Kurt was about to say something else when they were interrupted again.

"There you are, Kurt!"

Both turned and saw Meredith standing there. She noticed Carey and smiled. "Oh, do you two know each other? Did you do a concert together or something? I was just telling Carey earlier that she should think about recording her own album..."

Kurt paused and laughed. "Actually, performing together is one thing we have never done before together..."

Meredith frowned. "So, how do you two know each other?"

"Mer, you're going to think this is funny. I mean, I can't believe how small of a world this is..."

She paused. "How small?"

At that moment, Cody came up to one side of her. "Hello, Meredith..."

She just looked at him. "Hello..."

Zack came up on the other side of her. "Hello, Meredith..."

She just looked at him too. "Hello..."

Then it dawned on her that she was seeing double, and she began jumping around freaking out.

Kurt rubbed the back of his neck. "Did I ever mention that Zack was a twin?"

__To be Continued...__


	21. One Good Scheme Deserves Another

_Chapter 21_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so...

Meredith continued looking back and forth between Zack and Cody. She might not have been the smartest person in the world, but she could tell that something was definitely amiss with the situation. And both of them just kept grinning at her. Despite the situation she was in, she reminded herself that she was in control. Besides, she vowed to herself that she would not be deterred from her goal by two teenagers. So, she just looked up at Kurt and smiled.

"You must have forgotten to mention that fact..."

Zack laughed. "Don't feel too bad. He never mentioned it to me either. I'm the real Zack, and that's Cody. He's been here in Seattle pretending to be me."

Meredith just looked over at Cody who was still smiling at her. "Well, well. What a...happy coincidence that everyone showed up here...today...of all possible days. Doesn't this just beat all..."

Cody finally spoke up. "And this is our mother, Carey Martin."

Meredith turned to look at Carey. "You're their mother...and let me guess...Kurt's ex-wife?"

Carey laughed. "Guilty."

"This is just so...so...wonderful..." At that moment, her cell phone began ringing. "Excuse me for a moment." She stepped away to take her call.

Kurt turned to Carey. "I guess we really need to sit down and discuss this whole situation, huh?"

Carey nodded. "Yeah, we should. Especially since they know everything now."

Meredith returned over next to them, but she didn't look happy. "That was my boss. He needs me to take care of something pronto tonight. Seems one of my other clients has had sort of a meltdown..."

Kurt nodded. "You should probably go take care of that then. This actually works out for the best. We have a family situation to take care of here. We'll just have to reschedule our big night out. I hope you don't mind..."

Meredith plastered a smile on her face. "No...not at all. I'll just have to see you tomorrow. I'll call you later."

She paused before finally forcing herself to leave. And as soon as she was gone, Cody spoke up again.

"Since we have the night free, how about we have a family dinner...for the first time ever?"

Kurt shrugged. "I don't see why not. Carey?"

She sighed. "Well...I suppose."

Later that night, the four Martins were walking around Seattle, when Carey finally spoke up.

"Where are we going exactly?"

Cody just smiled. "Actually, we're here..."

Kurt and Carey looked up, and they saw they were at the entrance to one of the booze cruise ships. Kurt spoke up.

"Hold up a second. This is for people twenty-one and over. You two have six more years before you two can board."

Zack smiled. "Darn. I guess you two will have to go without us. I mean...the tickets have already been bought. No need to waste them. We'll just see you both later." And with that, Zack and Cody quickly made their exit before Kurt or Carey could say anything.

He turned to her. "Why do I get the feeling that we've just been set up?"

She laughed. "Because we have. I think we're going to have to watch those two if they team up on something. I get the feeling they'll be a potent combination."

Kurt smiled. "Well, we are here. Shall we?"

"Alright."

They boarded the boat, and were shown their table – a private table for two off in a corner. After their orders were taken, Kurt just looked at Carey.

"This brings back some memories, huh?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I mean it should. We first met on a boat like this, and it was on a boat like this that we got...married."

"I remember thinking I was the luckiest man in the world that day. I had everything I could have ever wanted. And then we were blessed with twin boys..."

"Yeah. We were."

Kurt paused. "Then what happened to us, Carey?"

"You know what happened. Your career was more important to you than your family was."

He shook his head. "That's not true at all! I was trying to provide for my family. I was trying to give our boys a stable life so they wouldn't have to struggle like we did early on."

Carey sighed. "A life on the road was far from stable. They needed roots. They needed to be around children their own ages."

"And Zack has been. I made sure of that."

"So has Cody."

"You realize now that they know about each other, we can't keep them separated any longer. Besides, it seems like Cody is quite taken with Bailey."

"I know. He told me she was his girlfriend. While on one hand, I'm relieved, on the other, I'm concerned."

"Maybe I can have them six months a year, and then you can have them the other six months."

Carey smiled. "You know as well as I do that won't work. Just like you having them one year and me the next won't work either. While what we did was pretty stupid, there still aren't any better options."

"There has to be."

"If you can think of one, I'd be all ears..."

"You know, you could always move back to Seattle..."

She laughed. "Why don't you move to Boston?"

"Because this where we're both from. Both of our families are here. And I actually own a house here. You live in a suite that is part of your contract with the hotel."

Carey frowned. "How did you know that?"

Kurt swallowed. "I may have...kept tabs on you over the years."

She shook her head. "You've kept tabs on me, but it was too much effort for you to come after me all those years ago?"

He paused. "I didn't know you wanted me to...or I would have."

Carey just looked at him and sighed. "Well...that was a long time ago. It doesn't matter any more..."

Kurt just looked back at her and sighed too. "I guess not..."

"Lets just put on a good show for the boys. I know they worked hard trying to put this together. They just had no idea that it was impossible."

He just kept looking at her, and his eyes were filled with sadness. "Yeah...impossible."

_Back at the Seattle Tipton_

Zack and Cody made their way back to the Seattle Tipton. And inside the lobby, Bailey, Addison and Woody were there waiting on them to get back. When the twins walked in, everyone looked up at them as if asking a question, and Zack and Cody just smiled. Bailey ran over to Cody.

"So, it worked?"

He just kept smiling at her. "Like a charm. That was a good idea you had. Making them spend time where they first met and got married was a stroke of genius."

She blushed and smiled back at him. "Well..."

Zack interrupted them. "Yeah, yeah. Just because I'm getting used to the idea of you two doesn't mean I want to watch you two fawn all over each other." He turned and saw Woody and Addison making googly eyes at each other. "And you two? Don't even get me started..."

Addison laughed and turned to the twins. "I have to say...that was pretty smart getting Meredith out of the way tonight. How did you pull that off?"

Zack shrugged. "I didn't do it." He turned to his brother and Bailey. "Was that you two as well?"

Both of them shook their heads. "I thought it was just pure dumb luck..."

"Actually, that was all my doing..."

Everyone turned and saw Maya standing there. Zack's eyes went wide. "Maya! What are you doing here?"

Cody spoke up. "And that was your doing?"

Maya nodded. "Yeah. I told you my grandmother lives out her. Well, so does my uncle. He's this bigwig at a record company. The same one that your Dad's band has a deal with. I called him and asked him for a favor..."

Zack grinned. "Thank you so much. But I didn't think I'd ever see you again..."

She sighed. "I had to get away and do some thinking. You have to admit...all of this is kind of overwhelming."

"True..."

"But the more I thought about it, I asked myself what I would have done in your situation, and I admitted to myself that I probably would have done the exact same thing. And I remember you did tell me twice that you were going to tell me. So, it was clear to me that you were trying to be honest with me..."

Zack smiled. "I really was. I meant it when I said I really liked you."

"Well, I meant it when I said I really don't know who you are. But the fact is I didn't have any idea who Cody was before either. I had a lot of fun with you and began to really like you too. So, what I guess I'm saying is that I want the chance to get to know you...the real you."

Zack kept smiling. "I would really like that..."

"But! And this is a big but! No more switching places with your brother any more!"

Bailey finally spoke up. "Actually, once you spent time around the both of them, they're pretty easy to tell apart."

Addison nodded. "She's right. Within a few hours, it was obvious to Bailey and I that Cody wasn't Zack. They really are polar opposites."

Woody spoke up to. "Its true. Zack is good at basketball. Cody sucks."

Cody sighed. "Thanks, Man..."

Woody shrugged. "Well, its true...You suck at all sports."

"You know I had an astigmatism!"

Bailey rubbed his back. "Its okay. Let it go."

Maya spoke up again. "So, you have your parents together talking and trying to get them to reconnect?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah. Its where they first met and got married. If that doesn't work..."

"What if it doesn't work? What's your back-up plan?"

Zack turned to Cody. "Good question..."

Cody paused. "Ummm...I'm not sure. We're kind of putting all of our eggs in this one basket..."

Maya laughed. "Well, if it doesn't work, then I'm sure your Mom, Cody, and Woody will be on a plane back to Boston tomorrow..."

Everyone looked at each other letting that thought sink in. No one wanted that to happen at all.

Maya continued. "Sounds like we need a plan B then." She smiled. "And I think I have just the thing. We need to go do some shopping..."

Zack smiled. "Okay...And after that, the six of us can all go out for dinner."

Cody spoke up. "Wait a minute. What is this plan B?"

Maya kept smiling. "Its actually quite simple. You see..."

She laid out her idea to everyone, and everyone thought it was actually a really good idea. So, they were off to do some shopping. And once they had, they all went to dinner in the hotel's restaurant. While they did, Maya got the chance to know the real Zack. And to the surprise to some at the table, she actually liked who the real Zack was. Zack was happy about this, and it allowed him to tolerate the looks and touches that his brother and Bailey were giving each other. Of course, he resigned himself to accepting that he didn't think he would ever understand Woody and Addison together.

The next morning, Carey was checking out of the hotel with her bags at her feet. She turned and saw Woody standing there with Addison.

"Where's Cody?"

"Ummm...He'll be down in a minute."

Carey finished checking out and turned to Kurt. "Alright. You'll send Zack to Boston for Christmas, and I'll send Cody out here for spring break."

Kurt just nodded, and the both turned to see Zack and Cody walking right towards them – both wearing the exact same outfit.

Carey sighed. "Cody, where are your bags? We have a plane to catch!"

Cody and Zack just looked back and forth between each other. One of them finally spoke. "Here's the deal, Mom. We've been talking, and we feel like we're totally being screwed in this arrangement you and Dad have come up with. So, here's our proposition. We all head back to Dad's house, pack our things and then we go camping as a family."

"Camping?"

The other twin spoke. "Yes, camping. Every year before school starts, we go on a camping trip. We want to go on it."

Carey shook her head. "Cody, go get your bags so we can go."

"Are you sure you know which one of us is Cody?"

The other nodded. "Yeah, can you be 100% sure which one of us in Zack and which one of us is Cody?"

Kurt shook his head. "Boys...This isn't funny. Your Mom is going to miss her flight back to Boston."

Carey shook her head. "Cody!"

Both grinned and answered. "Yes?"

Kurt knelt down in front of them and began looking back and forth between them. Finally, he grinned and rubbed one of them on top of the head. "This one is Zack. I'm sure of it!"

That twin grinned. "I hope you're right, Dad...You wouldn't want to send the wrong twin all the way back to Boston..."

The other grinned. "Would you?"

Kurt looked back and forth between them again, but this time, he wasn't so sure.

"Here's our proposition again. We go back to Dad's house and the four of us go camping. When we get back, we'll tell you which one of us is Zack and which one of us is Cody..."

Carey shook her head. "Or...I take one of you back to Boston whether your like it or not..."

__To be Continued...__


	22. The Great Outdoors

_Chapter 22_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so...

A jet soared through the sky heading back east. But on the ground outside of the Martin home, Kurt, Cody and Zack were all busy loading up Kurt's jeep to go on their camping trip. Ever since their confrontation in the hotel that morning, neither Cody nor Zack were doing anything to possibly tip off who was who. And as they were packing the jeep, Meredith pulled up in her car. And seeing them packing, she frowned and immediately got out to find out what was going on.

"Kurt! What are you doing?"

He turned around and paused. "Ummm. Well, we have kind of a family emergency here we're trying to solve. The boys won't tell us which is which until we all get back from a family camping trip..."

About that time, Carey was coming out the front door and saw Meredith. And Carey knew she wasn't happy.

Meredith glared at Kurt. "Family camping trip?" She looked over and noticed Carey standing there. "What is she doing here?"

Kurt sighed. "That's the deal. The four of us go camping."

"What are you? The Brady Bunch now?"

Carey walked over to Meredith and smiled. "Is everything okay?"

Meredith plastered a fake smile on her face. "Actually, no its not. I didn't know you were going on this trip. In fact, I don't think I like this one bit!"

Carey kept smiling. "I couldn't agree more. I'm sure the ex-wife in the next sleeping bag would be kind of awkward. That's why I insist on you going with us."

Kurt just shook his head and laughed. "Carey..."

"No, Kurt. I really do insist. I mean, I've completely ruined all of the plans you two have made. Its the least I can do."

A little while later, Cody and Zack were helping Kurt finish loading the jeep when Meredith and Carey walked out of the house. And Meredith had changed in to more camping friendly clothes. Cody frowned.

"Dad, what is Meredith doing here?"

He smiled. "You're mother invited her to join us. So...be nice."

Cody and Zack climbed into the back of the jeep while Meredith took her place in the passenger seat and Kurt in the driver's seat. Carey walked over to them.

"Well, looks like you guys are all packed. I hope you all have fun."

Zack and Cody looked at each other. "But that wasn't part of the plan, Mom!"

Carey smiled. "Oh, it'll be alright. You'll have much more fun without me anyways..."

Meredith went to unbuckle her seat belt. "Well, if she's not going, there's no need for me to go either. I'm not much of a nature girl anyways."

Carey kept smiling. "Oh, but you really should. You and Kurt really should spend some time before your big day. Plus, this is a wonderful chance for you to really get to know the boys. I mean...before long, they will be half yours..."

Kurt just shook his head, laughed and put on his sunglasses. He put the jeep in drive and pulled out as Carey waved goodbye to everyone. A couple of hours later, they had all crossed into British Columbia and made their way to their usual camping area. Of course, to get to the lake that they camped along, there was a two hour hike ahead of them. And when she found out about this, Meredith was not happy. An hour later, she began complaining about needing a break.

Kurt sighed. "Alright, lets take a break so Meredith can catch her breath..."

Zack sighed. "Dad, if we don't get back on pace, it'll take us three hours to get there at this pace..."

"Relax. We'll be there in plenty of time."

Meredith was sitting on a rock relaxing. Cody grinned and took the opportunity to start slipping rocks into her backpack. Was it a little bit juvenile? Of course it was, but he couldn't think of anyone who deserved it more. But she was completely oblivious.

"Where is my bottle of water?"

Zack grinned. "Let me get that for you, Mer."

Zack walked over and found her bottle of water lying on the ground. And right next to it, was a little salamander. He grinned and picked it up. After placing it on the the water bottle, he handed it to Meredith. Without noticing, she unscrewed the top and began taking a drink. Of course, when she saw the salamander looking back at her, she began freaking out. She dropped the bottle of water and began jumping around shrieking.

Kurt turned around. "What's wrong?"

She screamed. "There was a lizard on my bottle of water!"

He went over to pick it up and began laughing. "This little guy? He's harmless."

Meredith composed herself. "I know. I was just startled, that's all..."

Kurt shrugged. "I'm going to take the lead. Boys, hang back and help Meredith, okay?"

Cody just grinned. "Sure thing, Dad."

Meredith picked up her backpack and groaned. "This thing weighs a ton..."

Zack grinned. "Need a hand, Mer?"

She turned around and glared at the both of them. "Not from either of you. I'm not fooled by your angelic faces. You two would give me a help off a cliff if one was around. But, you two will soon learn who is really in charge around her. One more little trick from either of you, and I promise to make your lives a living hell from the day I say 'I do'..."

_Back at the Martin house _

Carey was keeping herself busy around the house, but there wasn't much she could do. So, she just sighed and sat down at the kitchen table. She just sipped on a cup of coffee when she heard a knock at the back door. She got up to answer it and found Bailey standing there.

"Bailey, right?"

Bailey smiled. "That's right, Ms. Martin. I was stopping by to see if Addison was here."

Carey sighed. "She and Woody went off for a picnic down by the lake...about eight hours ago."

"Oh..."

Carey paused. "Actually, if you don't mind. I'd like to talk to you. I'm get the impression that Cody really likes you."

Bailey smiled again. "I promise you that the feeling is mutual."

"Come on in then. I should get to know a little about you then."

They sat down at the kitchen table, and Bailey began telling Carey a little about herself. And as she sat there listening, Carey could definitely see why Cody was drawn to her.

"I must say...I should be thanking you."

Bailey paused. "For what?"

"Well, I don't know if Cody told you about Barbara..."

Bailey cut her off. "I know all about her. That's one of the things Cody bonded over. We've both had relationships that weren't good for us."

Carey smiled. "I think we've all been there...but I was afraid Cody was snake bitten around girls after what happened. Obviously, I can see that I was wrong about that..."

"Well, Ms. Martin, I just wanted you to know that I really do like him. I can just be myself around him, and its okay. He actually appreciates that I'm smart. We went to the Pacific Science Center together, and even though I've been there numerous times, it was so much more fun being there with him. He's smart, sweet, kind..."

Carey laughed. "I think I get the picture." She paused. "But at some point, Cody is going to have to go back to Boston with me..."

Bailey nodded. "I understand that is a possibility, but that doesn't matter to me. I know that he is actually there, and I can wait for him. We've even already talked about applying to the same colleges together."

"I see. I wish I could make things easier for you both..."

"I know, but aren't the best things in life worth waiting for?"

Carey smiled. "Yeah, they are..."

"Like say...about fifteen years worth of waiting?"

She paused. "Oh...ummm...well...I don't know about all of that."

"Well, that would be up to you...But it seems like a waste to deny what you really want. I may only be fifteen myself, but I already know to go for what you want."

Carey just looked at her. "Okay, I can definitely see why my son is drawn to you. You speak your mind, don't you?"

Bailey smiled. "Never let go unsaid what you will regret not saying later..."

Carey just nodded. "That's definitely something to think about..."

_Back in the Woods_

Everyone had finally arrived at the campsite on the lack, put up their tents and gathered wood for the fire. Once that was done, they did some fishing and caught some trout. While Kurt was busy getting the fire going, Cody began cleaning the fish and preparing them to be cooked with his pocket spice rack. By the time the fire was going, the fish were ready. And when they were done cooking, they sat down around the fire to eat.

Kurt sighed. "This is amazing..." He turned to the boys. "Whichever one of you is Cody, I'm guessing I have you to thank for this, huh?"

Both boys just grinned at him and spoke. "You're welcome."

Zack turned to Meredith. "Don't you want some, Mer?"

She turned her nose up at it. "No thank you. I'll wait till breakfast to eat. What are we having then?"

The other three just looked at her. "Trout..."

She sighed and swatted at her arm. "Well, at least the mosquitoes are eating well." She pulled out her insect repellant. "I swear...I don't think this stuff in working."

Zack whispered to Cody. "What did you do to it?"

Cody whispered back. "I added a chemical compound to it that counteracts the repellant and actually turns it into a sugar. So, instead of repelling the mosquitoes, it actually attracts them..."

Zack shook his head. "You really are a nerd, aren't you? What did you do to the bottle of bear repellant you gave her?"

"Nothing. I want to have some fun with her, but even I know better than to tempt drawing bears to us..."

Kurt grabbed the bottle of repellant and sprayed some on his arm. He smelled it and shook his head. "Well, it smell like normal repellant. Maybe you just got a bad bottle? Where did you get it anyways?"

"The boys gave it to me..." Meredith bit her tongue and calmed herself as she glared at the boys. "Well...in any case, I think I'm going to take a full sleeping pill and go to bed." She glared at the boys once again before she leaned down and placed a big kiss on Kurt. Once she was done, she just turned and smiled back at the boys.

Once she was in her tent, Kurt shook his head at the boys. "Guys...Lay off. This isn't her thing. Try to be nice..."

That night, after everyone else was asleep, Cody and Zack sneaked out of their tent and over to Meredith's.

Cody whispered to Zack. "Are you sure about this?"

Zack grinned and whispered back. "I'm positive. Besides, this will be child's play compared to what we did to each other in Texas."

Cody had to nod at this. If they had more warning Meredith was coming, they could have really prepared something better.

They opened up her tent and began dragging Meredith out on her air mattress. At one point, she began to stir, but her sleeping pill had really knocked her out. So, they continued to drag her until her air mattress was floating on the lake. Once that was done, they both headed back to their tent to get some sleep.

The next morning, Meredith slowly woke up to a bird sitting on her and pecking at her face. She shooed it away and open her eyes. And that was when she noticed she was floating in the middle of the lake. Immediately, she began screaming at the top of her lungs. And being freaked out, she began flailing around and yelling for Kurt.

Of course, this woke up Kurt, Zack and Cody. The three of them quickly exited their tents and saw Meredith out in the middle of the lake. Kurt sighed, but by then it was too late. Meredith had been flailing out of control and ended up falling into the lake. The three of them just watched as she reemerged from the water and made her way to the shore. And immediately, she stormed up to Kurt. He just looked at her.

"What's going on?"

She just glared at him. "Here's what's going on. The day we get married, I'm shipping those two brats off to military school! Get the picture? Its me or them...take your pick!"

Kurt looked over at his boys and smiled. He turned back to Meredith. "Them."

She looked at him incredulously. "Excuse me?"

"T-H-E-M...them. Get the picture?"

Meredith just screamed again and stormed off. Well, due to the recent events, Kurt decided that that the camping trip was going to be cut short. The hike back to the car and the drive back were silent ones until they dropped Meredith off. But once they did, Kurt chastised and scolded the boys all the way back home. And when they got there, Carey was outside and looked at them oddly.

"Back home so soon?"

Kurt nodded. "Uh huh."

"Where's Meredith?"

"Gone. She asked me to do the impossible. She wanted me to choose her over my boys..."

Zack sighed. "Though, he did say we were grounded until we graduated from high school..."

Kurt smirked. "Uh huh. Up to your room, boys and stay there."

Cody and Zack sighed and made their way inside and up the stairs to Zack's room. Carey just watched them leave and began laughing.

"Okay, what in the world happened?"

"Lets just say our boys played a few tricks on Meredith that sent her over the edge..."

Carey held her hand to her mouth. "Oh my gosh. This is all my fault. I was the one who suggested she go with you all..."

Kurt grinned. "I believe the word you are looking for is tricked. Well, like mother like sons. Its no wonder where they get that from..."

Carey laughed. "I am so sorry..."

Kurt laughed. "Don't worry about..." He sighed. "I need to remember to thank them for this someday..."

__To be Continued...__


	23. Saying Goodbye

_Chapter 23_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

Kurt finished unloading the jeep while Carey continued trying to keep herself busy. But there was nothing for her to do, so she helped him unload everything. And when they were done, there was an awkward silence between them.

"So..."

Carey turned to him. "Yeah?"

"Ummm...Where is everyone?"

"Billy went out to see a band, and I haven't seen Addison in over a day..."

Kurt lifted his eyebrows. "Really?"

Carey nodded. "Yeah. She and Woody have been inseparable since they first met. I don't get it, but who am I to ask questions?"

Kurt laughed. "Fair enough. I guess that leaves you, me and the two prisoners in isolation. I guess I could cook us something..."

Carey just looked at him. "You cook?"

"Well, I'm not Cody, but I can cook pasta...and pasta..."

Carey laughed. "Pasta it is then..."

Kurt proceeded to head into the kitchen to begin fixing them some dinner. And when it was done, he headed up to his room to get cleaned up. And he went all out. He showered, shaved and even slapped on some of his best cologne. Heading out of his room, he stopped to check himself out in the mirror in the hallway. And that's when he heard it.

"Looking good, Dad!"

He turned to see Zack and Cody in Zack's room playing video games. Kurt just smiled, shook his head and closed their bedroom door. "Goodnight, Boys..."

Zack turned to Cody. "What do you think is going to happen tonight?"

Cody shrugged. "I don't know. But as far as I can tell, this is our last shot for something good to happen."

"Tell me about it. Thanks to us being grounded, I can't go see Maya. And she's scheduled to leave to head back to Boston on the same flight as you all tomorrow..."

"You don't have to tell me. This is potentially the last night I'll have to spend with Bailey in who knows how long and I'm here trapped spending it with you..."

"Well, as bad as you have it, at least you have me to play video games with. You're terrible!"

Cody rolled his eyes. "So sorry that I haven't spent every free minutes of my life so far practicing. I've had better things to do!"

Both just looked at each and began laughing.

Zack shook his head. "I have no idea why, but I'm actually going to miss this..."

"Me too. I still don't understand what Mom and Dad could be thinking. Now that we know about each other, are we supposed to forget that except on holidays and the occasional trip to visit?"

"I don't know. Their grown ups. When do they ever make any sense?"

Cody laughed at that. "The sad thing is how true that is..."

Zack paused. "Well, they locked us in here, but did you notice what they forgot to do?"

"What's that?"

He grinned. "Take our cell phones away from us. I might not be able to be with Maya, but I can still talk to her."

Cody grinned back. "Smart thinking...I'm going to call Bailey too."

Back in the kitchen, Kurt was serving the dinner he created for he and Carey. And when she saw what all he created, she couldn't help but laugh.

"I must admit. This is a lot better than the first time you tried to cook for me..."

He shook his head and smiled. "It wasn't that bad, was it?"

"Ordinarily, its tough to screw up hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. But you did a good job of doing just that. As I recall, we had to end up ordering out for pizza..."

"Well, I've gotten better now. But as I recall, you said that Cody does all the cooking for the two of you now. I guess he learned early on that your culinary skills weren't much better than mine..."

"What can I say? He's good at it. He learned from the hotel's head chef."

Kurt paused. "You know...For years now, I've wondered how he would turn out. Wondered if he and Zack were just alike..."

Carey nodded. "I know what you mean. But from what I've learned, they couldn't be any more different..."

"I know. And it looks like both of them have strong reasons to want to spend time in either Boston or Seattle now."

"I've noticed that too. I actually got to sit down and get to know Bailey yesterday. And she's a wonderful girl..."

"Who is this girl Zack seems to be interested in from Boston?"

"Maya. I've met her a few times too, and she seems very nice as well..."

He sighed. "You know neither one of them are going to be very happy with us now. We are pulling them away from people they want to be with..."

"I know, but what other option do we have? If I take them both back to Boston, Cody will be miserable. If I leave them both here in Seattle, Zack will be miserable. If we let the switch places permanently, we're back in the same boat as before in that we have separated them again."

Kurt paused. "What about you? What do you want?"

"I have no idea. What about you? You're fiancee dumped you today..."

He laughed. "Actually, that really doesn't bother me at all. I guess that should be telling me something..."

"Won't it affect your career?"

"Nah. The label still loves us. They want to send us back on a reunion tour at the end of the summer..."

Carey shook her head. "I see somethings haven't changed. And where will Zack and Addison be while you all are traipsing around the country."

He paused again. "I don't know. This will be the first time that I'll have gone on tour while he's been in school." He grinned. "Like I said, I've given him as much of a stable life as I can..."

She sighed. "I don't want to fight about this again..."

"Neither do I. I'm just trying to say I'm not the irresponsible person you thought I was fifteen years ago."

She sighed again. "I couldn't take the chance back then. We had two new lives in our care that had to be our first priority."

"And they have been. You did hear me drop Meredith when she told me to choose between them and her..."

Carey nodded. "I did."

Kurt paused and let it out again. "What happened to us, Carey? I admit. Everyone woman I meet, I compare to you. And no one has ever come close to even halfway measuring up to you..."

She just looked and him and slumped her shoulders. "I don't know. I do the same thing with the same results. Maybe we were just too young? Maybe we bit off more than we could chew? Maybe we we're as ready as we thought?"

"Do you regret it all?"

She shook her head. "Never. We have Cody and Zack. Having those two is worth everything."

"I agree. But...you know...we are older, wiser and hopefully more mature now..."

"I sure hope so..."

"Why not try us again then?"

Carey swallowed. "I admit that thought has crossed my mind from time to time." She began shaking her head. "But I can't. You have no idea how much it hurt me the first time. I couldn't bare going through that a second time. It would kill me!"

And with that, Carey got up and left the table leaving Kurt sitting there just watching her walk away...again.

The next morning, it was pouring down rain. And that was just fine as it matched everyone's mood. The cab to take Maya, Carey, Woody and Cody to the airport was due to arrive at any moment, but nobody was in any hurry for it to arrive. So, in the last few minutes they had before they were to be separated, the group of six teens broke off to have some private time together.

Woody sighed. "It doesn't seem fair. I just met you, and I now I have to go back to Boston. Dang it!"

Addison smiled at him. "I know. But, we already know webcams and cell phone works. And when Cody comes out here to visit, you better be coming with him..."

He smiled back. "I will. And when Zack comes out to Boston to visit, you better be coming with him."

"Count on it."

Woody pulled her into a hug. "I just wanted to say thank you for the best couple of days of my life. I think I'll even be able to tolerate Steve when I get back..."

"Well, if he causes you any problems, you tell me and I'll make sure he deals with me!"

In another secluded area, Maya and Zack were saying their goodbyes.

"You do have my number, so you better call me."

Zack smiled. "I will. And when I come out to Boston, it won't be just to see my brother and mother. Seeing you will be just as important to me."

She smiled back. "It better be. Besides, I'll need you to come back to shut up Theo every once in a while..."

He laughed. "Count on it. What about me though? I'm losing my favorite teammate. After playing with you, you think I have any desire to play with a bunch of sweaty guys?"

Maya paused. "Are you going to be dating any other girls?"

Zack shook his head. "No way. There is only one girl I want to go out with, and she's standing right in front of me. Who knows? With so much free time on my hands now, my grades might actually go up?"

She laughed. "Ill believe that when I see it..."

He pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'm really going to miss you."

"I'm really going to miss you too."

And in yet another secluded corner, Cody and Bailey were saying goodbye to each other.

"This really, really sucks!"

Bailey smiled at him. "I know. I'm not happy about it either, but just think of the alternative..."

"There's something worse than not getting to be with you?"

"Yeah, there is. Just think. Due to luck, coincidence or fate, we actually met. I have you in my life now. I have to be thankful for that."

Cody smiled back at her. "You're right...as usual. I'm thankful to have you in my life too. The girl of my dreams now has a face to her...and a melodious laugh..."

She giggled and smiled back. "And the boy of my dreams has the cutest nose crinkle when he's lying..."

He laughed. "You're not going to forget that, huh?"

"Don't believe so." She sighed. "I'm really going to miss you, Cody..."

"I'm really going to miss you too, Bailey..." He leaned in and kissed her. When he pulled back, he just looked at her. "I think I'm falling in love with you. And you know that's the truth..."

"Me too."

Unfortunately though, the taxi chose then to show up, and Carey, Cody, Woody and Maya had to finally leave. As the cab pulled away, Bailey, Addison, Zack and Kurt just watched it leave, all feeling their hearts breaking. Kurt finally closed the door, and turned to find everyone just looking at him.

He sighed. "I know..."

For Cody, Woody, Maya and Carey, the trip back to Boston was a long and sad one. No one said much of anything, and to make matters even worse, their layover in Detroit was extended by over an hour due to weather. Finally, about ten o'clock that evening, they finally arrived back at the Tipton Hotel. As they walked inside with their bags, Carey turned to the three teens.

"Why don't we drop off our bags upstairs, and I'll take you all out to get a burger or something. I'm sure we're all starving by now.

The other three just nodded without any real emotion, and they began the ride up the elevator to the 23rd floor. Opening the door, they turned on the lights. And to everyone's surprise, there was Bailey, Addison, and Zack all sitting on the couch waiting on them.

Cody couldn't help but smile. "What are you guys doing here?"

Bailey smiled back at him. "Well, about thirty seconds after your cab left, we all decided we weren't going to let you all go without a fight..."

Addison continued. "So Uncle Kurt immediately borrowed the record label's private jet..."

Zack finished. "And with your layover, we got to Boston first..."

Carey just stood there in shock. "All of you?"

Kurt walked in from the kitchen. "All of us. Carey, fifteen years ago, I let you get away from me without putting up a fight. This time, I'm going to fight to get us back together just as hard as you will fight against it..." He smiled. "But just remember, our boys get their stubborn streak from me, so I like my chances..."

Carey sighed. "Kurt..."

"Hear me out. Our boys need both their mother and their father. When we were all split apart, none of us felt whole. We can feel whole again. And I was right when I said we needed a woman around the house. But we all need the right woman. The right woman is you...for our boys...and for me. You always have been."

She sighed. "But there is no way this can work even if we did try again. You're going out on tour again. The boys need stability in their lives. It wouldn't work with you out on the road and me at home...either here or in Seattle."

"Then go out on the road with me. We'll see and enjoy the country together. Like we should have done the first time..."

"What about the boys then? Just leave them at home?"

Kurt fell silent. But Cody paused and began grinning as an idea came to him. "What if I said I had an idea that would make everyone happy?"

__To be Concluded...__


	24. Alls Well That Ends Well

_Chapter 24_

_I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did. _

_Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them. _

_Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves._

_And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so..._

_Two Months Later_

Cody had just returned to his room and dropped his backpack off on his desk. Once he did that, he just sat back on his bed and relaxed. These past couple of months had been action packed. Fortunately, his parents and everyone else had thought his idea was a good one and had agreed to it. He laid back and closed his eyes to just take it easy. A few minutes to unwind sounded real good about then. Unfortunately, it wasn't to last long as his cell phone began ringing. Pulling it out of his pocket, he answered it.

"Hello?"

"_Cody..."_

He smiled. "Hey Mom...How's the tour going?"

"_Pretty well actually. We're in San Francisco tonight, so were going to head off to Fisherman's Wharf here in a little while to explore it and get some fresh seafood."_

"Sounds like you all are having as much as we are..."

"_We are having a lot of fun. Where are you all at right now exactly?"_

"Well, we left Miami a few days ago and are heading south towards South America. Word is we'll be in Rio in about a week and a half."

_She laughed. "That does sound like fun. Where in the world did you come up with the idea of Seven Seas High anyways? I would never have thought of that in a million years..."_

He laughed too. "Easy. Before I left for Texas, London mentioned that's where her father was sending her so she couldn't skip school like before. I thought this would be a good compromise. We'd all have stability while getting a wonderful education while you and Dad had a chance to reconnect."

"_Well, you were right. Your Dad and I have reconnected. Better than I ever could have dreamed or imagined..."_

"Trying to tell me something, Mom?"

_She smiled. "Maybe. There might be a ceremony when you are all home for Christmas where your Dad will require yours and Zack's services as best men..."_

Cody couldn't help but smile. It may not have happened like they had planned, but it looked like it was going to work out after all. "Congratulations, Mom. Oh, and before you ask, you definitely have my blessing."

_Carey laughed again. "I kind of figured I did..."_

"Now, I do have to ask. Am I allowed to bring a date to this little shindig?"

"_I kind of figured and hoped you would. How is Bailey doing anyways?"_

Cody grinned again. "She's doing great. In fact, she's supposed to be coming down to my and Zack's cabin in a little bit so we can do our homework before heading out to dinner..."

"_I'm glad to hear things are going well for you. Speaking of Zack, you are watching out for your brother, aren't you?"_

"Yes, Mom. I'm even already cleaning up after him..."

_She chuckled. "Kind of saw that coming...Just remember, even though your Dad and I aren't there, I want you both to listen to Mr. Moseby. I'm glad he's there to keep an eye on you..."_

Cody paused. "Ummm..."

"_Cody?"_

He sighed. "Lets just say Zack's found a new favorite person to pull pranks on..."

_Carey sighed. "I should have known that was coming too..."_

"Yeah, I even heard Moseby call him a hooligan the other day..."

"_I figured Maya would help calm him down a little bit..."_

Cody laughed. "Who do you think his partner in crime is?"

_Carey sighed again. _"_Great. Well, I'll let you get back to what you were doing. Make sure you call me at least every other day so I can keep in touch with you."_

"I'll do better than that. On the days I don't, I'll send you an e-mail letting you know what's going on."

At that moment, Zack walked into their cabin as well. Cody looked up. "Oh hey, Mom. Zack just came in..."

Immediately, Zack began shaking his head. Cody sighed. "Nevermind, he headed right into the bathroom. From what I've learned the past couple of months, he might be in there a while..."

_Carey laughed. "Alright. Well, tell him that I love you both and can't wait to see you both again..."_

"Will do, Mom. Love you too. Bye." Cody hung up the phone and looked at Zack. "Mom says she loves us and can't wait to see us again..."

Zack nodded. "Good. No offense to Mom, and I love her to death, but when I talked to her yesterday, she kept me on the phone for almost an hour. I'm going to have to start screening her calls. Besides, I'm supposed to meet Maya on the lido deck in ten minutes to shoot some hoops. You want to join us?"

Cody shook his head. "No thanks. Bailey is coming by in a little while, and we're going to do our homework together."

Zack just looked at him. "Homework? But today was the first day of school...and we don't have any homework due yet except for that paper due next week!"

"We know, but we want to stay on top of things..."

Zack just shook his head and sighed. "I can't believe I didn't see how you two would hit it off..."

Cody laughed. "Well, I'm very glad we did. What about you though? You okay with this place not having a basketball team to play for?"

"Of course I am..." He grinned. "Let me think...play against a bunch of sweaty guys or one on one against a hot, cool girl? Tough call..."

Cody shook his head. "And I should have saw that one coming..."

"Well, now you know...I'm going to change and get out of here. Have you seen Woodchuck and Addison?"

Cody paused. "Well, they said they were going to go get some ice cream after class. I figured I'd give them a wide berth after hearing that..."

Zack shuddered. "Good call. Oh well, I'm going to change and get out of here."

"By the way, when we get home for Christmas, we have a wedding to go to..."

Zack stopped what he was doing and turned to Cody. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

Cody grinned. "Uh huh. We've been tagged to be Dad's best men."

Zack grinned back. "Excellent! Looks like all of our scheming paid off..."

"I guess so..."

"Oh well, I need to be going before I'm late."

Ten minutes later, Zack was on the lido deck waiting for Maya to arrive. When she finally did, she snuck up behind and tole the ball away from Zack.

"You're getting soft, Martin. I expected a lot more from you..."

Zack turned around and grinned. "Well, I thought I'd go easy on you to start with. Didn't want to destroy your confidence from the start..."

Maya grinned back at him. "Uh huh. Is that why I beat you yesterday?"

"All part of my master plan..."

"Well, no offense, but I think I like your brother's master plan better. This ship is amazing!"

"I know. Plus, we have an easy target to pull pranks on in Moseby. Is it just me, or is it hilarious to see him get mad."

She laughed. "It is, but when he wears those knee socks, he's just asking for it..."

He laughed too. "Tell me about it." He paused. "Plus, I have the best of all worlds here. Instead of being cross country from you, I'm only a few floors down. And, I have Addison here too. And somehow, Woodchuck's grown on me, and I can't imagine not having him around either. On top of that, for the first time ever, I'm living and getting to really know my brother. This place really is perfect."

"I agree. I'm getting to know everyone too. Living with Addison has been...interesting, but fun. And everyone is great." She teased him. "And even though you don't want to hear it, Cody and Bailey are adorable together..."

Zack wrapped his arms around her. "I learning to get used to them, but lets forget about them and focus on something a whole lot more interesting...us."

"Us, huh? I don't know...I mean, I am still getting to know who you are..."

Zack looked at her incredulously. "You've known the real me for over two months now. Even when I had to go back to Seattle, we talked every day either on the phone or webcam. We even went out a few times when I came back to Seattle to help Cody and Mom get ready to move out to Seattle...You even took me to my first Red Sox game at Fenway!"

Maya began laughing. "I was just teasing you, Zack."

He just sighed. "Oh..."

"It'll be okay. I think I have a very good idea who the real you is, and I'm still here. Now, we should be getting back to playing some basketball..."

"Alright, but I'm going to get you back for teasing me. No more Mr. Nice Guy!"

"Bring it!"

After a very competitive game of one on one, they stopped to catch their breaths. Zack just looked over at Maya.

"Best two out of three!"

She laughed. "Nah. I think I'm good for now. Besides, I thought you said you weren't going to go easy on me anymore?"

Zack hung his head. "Okay...you got me. Happy now?"

Maya smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "Yeah. I am happy. Very happy."

He smiled back. "Me too."

She looked over. "Hey...isn't that Mr. Moseby hanging out with Miss Tutweiler?"

Zack looked over to where she was looking. "Yeah...it is. Isn't that interesting...Its almost as if they are on a date."

Maya grinned. "Maybe we should go find out what's going on?"

"I have a better idea...You up to pull a prank on them both?"

"Am I? What do you have in mind?"

Zack grinned. "I actually have to give Cody credit for this one. You see...their is this chemical compound he was telling me about..."

Back at Cody's cabin, he was getting everything ready for when Bailey showed up to do their homework. And a few minutes later, there was a knock at his door. He opened it to find a smiling Bailey, and he smiled back as he welcomed her inside.

"Come on in..."

"Thanks...I have to say. Your cabin is a lot tidier than I thought it would be. I figured with you and Zack sharing a cabin, it would be half clean and half a disaster area..."

Cody laughed. "Give it time. As long as his mess doesn't encroach on my half of the cabin, I think I can deal with it. But, I have told him that the bathroom must be kept clean all time. I don't want anything growing in there. Zack seemed to agree as long as I didn't object to his stash of comic books under the sink."

Bailey laughed too. "I supposed that's a good compromise. So, how is it sharing a room with your brother for the first time ever?"

"Its definitely something I'm adapting too." He smiled. "But if the price I have to pay for having you a few floors up instead of across the country is dealing with his mess, consider it worth every penny..."

She smiled back. "And for having you a few floors down, I don't mind putting up with London."

"How is it sharing a cabin with her?"

Bailey sighed. "Other than having to put a lock on my closet so she doesn't try to take it over?"

Cody rubbed her back. "I should have warned you about that. Back at the hotel, her closet was the size of a small country. I should have figured she'd try to look for more closet space."

"Its okay. Though, I could do without the constant insults and putdowns about my appearance and the way I dress..."

"Hey, I've dealt with those for three years now. London can be...a bit much to take in, but she can be a really good friend too. You just have to give it back to her as good as she gives it to you. I can even help you out there if you want. For example, she is very self conscious about her ears..." He grinned. "Besides, if she does say something about your appearance and clothes, just remember that I love the way you dress, and I think you are the most beautiful girl in the world."

She smiled again. "Really?"

He smiled back. "Oh yeah. Not even close."

She beamed at him. "Thank you. Not so bad yourself."

"So, does that mean you'd be willing to be seen with me as my date for my parents' wedding over Christmas Break?"

Bailey's eyes went wide. "Are you serious?"

Cody nodded and smiled. "Yeah. I guess all of our scheming and planning worked out."

Bailey engulfed him in a tight hug. "That's amazing news!"

"So, does that mean I have a date then?"

She pulled back and smiled. "You know you do."

He smiled back. "Excellent." He paused. "Are you sure you don't mind being away from your family here on the boat?"

She took his hand in hers. "Sure, I'll miss them. But, I'm here with you, and I getting the educational opportunity of a lifetime. But my parents understand why I wanted to come here." She grinned again. "Plus, it didn't hurt that you practically begged them and said your Dad was willing to pay for it. I mean...we'll get to study oceanography on the ocean...study ancient Greece from the Acropolis...study ancient Egypt from Giza. There was no way I could turn this down!"

"Good. I can't wait for all of those things either. And they will be even better because I get to do them with you..."

"Speaking of things we should do, we should get started on our homework. We don't want to fall behind. Besides, when we get to Rio, I want to have everything done so I don't have to worry about homework while I'm there..."

Cody smiled. "You just read my mind..."

Bailey smiled back. "Good. Now, all we have to do now is our assignment for English."

Both pulled out their assignment sheets and read over them. Immediately, both looked up at the other and began laughing.

"Is she serious?"

"I think so..."

Bailey shook her head. "Miss Tutweiler seriously wants us to write an essay on how we spent our summer vacations?"

Cody nodded. "I guess so..." He paused and began laughing again. "Why do I get the feeling she'll never believe us?"

__The End__


End file.
